Controversy As Group Distances Self From El-Rufai’s Form Purchase

The Kaduna Market Traders Association has denied being part of the groups that purchased the 2019 governorship form of the All Progressives Congress (APC) for Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna state.

The group, in a statement on Tuesday, said it does not know the identity of those who paraded themselves on their behalf to purchase the form for the governor.

THE WHISTLER reported on Monday that five groups had come together to buy the governorship form of the party for Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna state.

The groups led by the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), include Petroleum Tanker Drivers, National Association of Road Transport Owners (NARTO), Traders of Sheikh Mahmud Gummi Market and Katsina and Daura People’s Association living in Kaduna.

The governor, who expressed surprise at the development, said the gesture came at the right time because he could not have afforded the nomination fees set by the party.

“I don’t have N20m also to buy my form. The money I have in the bank is not close to that amount. I have only one account in GT Bank. Except I sell my house I will not be able to raise that that amount,” El-Rufai told the delegation at the Sir Kashim Ibrahim Government House, Kaduna on Monday.

But in a rebuttal, one of the groups described those who used their name to purchase the forms as “political scammers close to the governor”.

The statement reads: “We the Kaduna Market Traders Association wishes to disclaim and denounce the purported use of our name by some faceless figures in the name of purchase of APC nomination for Governor Ahmed Nasir Elrufai.

“There was never a time the Association met to decide on whether or not to purchase a nomination form for the governor.

“We don’t know the identity of those who paraded themselves as our officials. Our investigation only revealed to us that those people are political scammers close to the governor.

“We contacted members of the other groups whose name were used and they told us that they are equally unaware of any form of contribution for the purchase of forms for the governor.

“We are not a partisan organization and never in the 48 years’ history of our association ever engaged ourselves in such an act of political fraud and deceit. Our association comprises Non politicians and politicians from different parties.

“We have no reason to purchase a form for the governor whose tenure has never been helpful to us other than inflict hardships on our members.

“All the promises made to us by the governor in 2015 has never been fulfilled .He demolished our shops, increase our taxes, failed to give us the soft loans he promised and worst of all was that during the last conduct of our Association election, he sent APC thugs and policemen of “Operation Yaki” to invade and scatter our election materials when it was clear that his stooge lost the election.

“The association doesn’t have N22 million to donate to the governor. If we have such excess amount of money we could have use it to help our members recently affected by flood in Kaduna. If said he doesn’t have N20 million in his account, may God who is listening to him provide for him. But our name should not be used.

“Not sounding immodest, we appeal to the governor and his political friends to stop using our names in what we cannot defend before our creator in the hereafter.

“We call on the EFCC to investigate this purported claim now.”