Governor Uba Sani of Kaduna State has firmly rejected claims made by former governor Nasir El-Rufai that he is one of his political mentees.
El-Rufai, speaking recently on Channels Television, described Sani as one of the many individuals he mentored in politics. “Uba Sani is one of my mentees. I developed many of them… I’ve encouraged and mentored many people to greatness. Some even greater than me, and I’m very proud of it,” he declared.
But Governor Sani, while speaking in an interview with TVC, dismissed the suggestion, saying he owes his political grooming to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and late legal luminary, Chief Gani Fawehinmi.
“I don’t think it is necessary for me to respond to that comment because for me it is something I think I have no time to respond to,” he said.
Sani stressed that his political foundations were laid in the trenches of activism. He recalled meeting Tinubu in 1994 at the residence of Beko Ransom Kuti and living with Fawehinmi during his years of political struggle.
“I have so many people that I’ve worked with in my life… Chief Gani Fawehinmi is a leader, a father to me because during the era of struggle, I lived in his house,” he noted.
The governor emphasized that his attention remains on service delivery in Kaduna State, not political squabbles. “I don’t get distracted, my eyes are on the ball,” he said.
Though Sani once worked closely with El-Rufai as a political adviser between 2015 and 2019, his latest remarks suggest he intends to establish independence in his political trajectory.