“Supporting El-Rufai Was My Greatest Mistake” – Former Aide, Ben Kure

Ben Kure, one-time political adviser to ex-Kaduna State governor, Nasir El-Rufai, has openly expressed regret over backing his former principal, describing him as manipulative and divisive.

During an interview on Channels Television, Kure, who currently heads the Kaduna State Media Corporation, accused El-Rufai of running a government built on exclusion and discord rather than unity.

Kure recalled playing a pivotal role in El-Rufai’s political rise, serving as the Director-General of his governorship campaigns in both 2015 and 2019. However, he admitted that his biggest political regret was standing behind El-Rufai.

“In my entire life, I’ve never regretted anything as much as supporting Nasir El-Rufai,” he lamented. “We believed he was a nationalist, but what we witnessed was politics driven by discrimination, exclusion, and division. He flourished by setting people against each other.”

According to Kure, the former governor’s image as a bridge-builder quickly collapsed once he took office. He alleged that El-Rufai leaned heavily on religion and ethnicity to consolidate power, thereby deepening fault lines across the state.

“That is not leadership, it is manipulation,” Kure declared.

When asked why he continued to work with the former governor despite growing concerns, Kure explained that his disappointment developed over time. He noted that while he held several appointments, including local government chairman, executive secretary of the Kaduna State Emergency Management Agency, and political adviser, he gradually came to see through El-Rufai’s divisive style of governance.

“At the beginning, I didn’t know his true nature,” Kure explained. “But over time, it became clear. The Bible says nothing can be done against the truth, only for it. We endured him because of the party, but we held on to the hope that one day, someone would come and repair the damage he caused to Kaduna State.”