Kaduna State Governor, Malam Nasir El-Rufai has described those who spread rumour recently that he slapped his deputy, Barnabas Bala Bantex as unintelligent.
Speaking at an interactive session with journalists last night in Kaduna, El-Rufai laughed over the rumour, saying they (the rumour mongers) are “not quite intelligent enough.”
According to him, if the alleged fisticuffs took place in the executive meeting as portrayed by the rumour mongers, there would have been video evident of the fight by some executive members of the State councils, “because nobody is prevented from entering the meeting with his or her phone.
“I have never slapped anyone in my life, I have never argued with Bantex, I don’t slap people, I fight people with mouth.”
Governor El-Rufai said that if there is anybody he so much trusted and respected, it is Bantex who he said he had known closely for the past 40 years at Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria.
El-Rufai explained that it was based on the trust he has for his deputy that whenever he travelled out of the country, he usually allowed him the rights of an acting governor.
He said that these rights of acting governor were never observed by past governors, adding that as acting governor, Bantex signed documents and chaired security and executive council meetings.
“We chair executive council meeting together, we operate like partners, and now people want to create enemity between us. I am of age, I can’t descend so low. This rumour is completely false, it is created to cause division.
“We never discussed retrenchment of workers in the State as claimed by the rumour mongers.” [myad]
