Former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai denied on Friday that he sent a cryptic message intended to unsettle President Bola Tinubu’s administration following the Supreme Court ruling granting autonomy to local government in Nigeria.
On Thursday, the Supreme Court ruled that all federal funds for local government councils must be paid directly into their accounts. Justice Emmanuel Agim, leading a seven-member panel, delivered the judgment in a case filed by the federal government against the 36 state governors.
The judgment mandates that local government allocations will no longer be paid into state government accounts. It also prohibits governors from receiving, tampering with, or withholding funds meant for local governments. Additionally, the court barred governors from dissolving democratically elected local government officials, considering such actions a breach of the 1999 constitution.
Reacting to the Supreme Court’s decision, Tinubu’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, posted the details on his social media. El-Rufai responded , clarifying that his message was not cryptic.
”From God, we’ll came and to Him, we shall all return.”
El-Rufai’s post had drawn backlash from some Nigerians who perceived it as cryptic.
However, the former governor clarified that his message was misinterpreted by those obsessed with him.
He posted on X, saying “ FRIDAY MESSAGE: It seems to me that my translation of “Inna Lilahi wa inna ilaihir raa ji’un” meaning “from God we all came and to Him, we shall all return” has been reinterpreted by those obsessed with reading me as as a “cryptic message” to some unnamed persons.
“It seems to me that the reminder has unsettled some people and distressed a lot more. It is neither a cryptic nor a coded message. Just a reminder of the ultimate accountability and judgment of God, not that of infallible humans.”
”I will end it here and today as I do not want to unsettle or distress anyone. Enjoy the weekend.- @elrufai”