A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Bauchi State, Khamis Musa Darazo, has said Kaduna State belongs equally to all its residents, insisting that the governance of former Governor Nasiru El-Rufai affected people across the state.
Darazo, a loyalist of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, made the remarks on Saturday in Bauchi while reacting to attempts to interpret recent comments by the Minister of Defence, Christopher Musa, as a religious or sectional criticism of the former governor.
He said the Minister’s reference to “our people” during an interview on Channels Television should be understood as referring to the people of Kaduna State generally, rather than only residents of Southern Kaduna.
According to Darazo, different communities across the state experienced various challenges under the former administration, making it inappropriate to reduce the issue to a particular region or religion.
“The reality is that the grievances surrounding El-Rufai’s style of governance were felt across Kaduna State and not exclusively by the people of Southern Kaduna,” he said.
Darazo rejected suggestions that Christopher Musa criticised El-Rufai because of his religious identity, describing such an interpretation as misplaced.
“The Minister did not call out Nasiru El-Rufai because he is a Muslim. That interpretation is completely misplaced,” he said.
He noted that both President Tinubu and Kaduna State Governor Uba Sani are Muslims but have continued to promote unity and efforts aimed at reducing divisions.
Darazo urged Nigerians to focus on the substance of the Minister’s remarks and avoid turning the issue into a religious or regional confrontation.
“Kaduna belongs to all its people, and no community should be made to feel that its experience does not matter,” he added.
