Former governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-rufai has debunkedreports purporting his support for a Southern presidential candidate ahead ofthe 2027 general elections. Reports making the rounds on social media accused theAfrican Democratic Congress, ADC, chieftain of dumping one of the party’spresidential aspirants, Atiku Abubakar, who is from the North, stating that itis the turn of the South. The report suggested that El-rufai may be backing the 2023presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi. However, in a statement on Monday, El-rufai described thereport as an “untrue claim, despite its virality”. He denied making such claims in any of his speeches,interviews or social media posts. “I have my own verifiable platforms on social media where Ispeak my mind and own my opinions”, he said. The former governor reiterated that “no views may beattributable to me unless those I explicitly express on my social mediaplatforms or during interviews with respected media platforms. “It is also wrong and improper to attribute to me opinionarticles from other authors which I may post on my handles as a contribution tothe national conversation. These caveats are crucial as we confront bothirresponsible politicking and the deliberate misuse of social media forspreading fake news. “The wilful attribution to me of claims I did not make by afake news platform is no excuse to treat such platforms with any seriousness. “In this age of turmoil and falsehood, the always importantobligation to verify before posting has become ever more crucial. “In this instance, a few senior editors seem to have ignoredthis duty. Society loses if media leaders join the most irresponsible actors onsocial media in the unedifying olympics of fiction and fakery. Everyone shouldlive up to their responsibility”.
Related Articles
Don't miss out on breaking stories and in-depth articles.