Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, has said that the only disagreement he had with his former deputy, Barnabas Yusuf Bala (Bantex), was the offer to resign his position.
Bala Bantex died two weeks ago.
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El-Rufai Thursday said he and Bantex had never argued, let alone quarrel or engage in fisticuffs as was widely rumoured at the beginning of their administration between 2015 and 2019.
“The only disagreement we ever had, had to do with his offer, not once but three times to resign his office as deputy governor. Thrice I rejected,” he said.
The governor, who was speaking at a valedictory session of the state’s Executive Council held in honour of Bantex in Kaduna said: “He offered to resign because he felt that the open hostility of some leaders, groups and associations from his senatorial district will be reduced if he resigned and if I conceded to such persons the right to nominate his replacement.”
“I assured Bantex that under no circumstance will any person or group dictate who I work with as deputy governor. I appealed to him to stay and he agreed. I am very grateful to him for that,” he revealed.
El-Rufai also described the deceased as a good man, whose emergence made the office of the deputy governor of Kaduna State the most powerful of such office in Nigeria.
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