Former political adviser to ex-Kaduna State governor Nasir El-Rufai has launched a scathing attack on his former boss, describing him as a divider and a bad person whose years in power were marked by exclusion and manipulation.

Ben Kure, now the managing director of Kaduna State Media Corporation, made the remarks during a live appearance on Channels Television. Speaking as a son of Southern Kaduna and a founding member of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state, Gure said he initially championed El-Rufai’s rise to power, only to later regret his role.

“I was Director-General of his campaigns in 2015 and 2019. In my life, I have never regretted an action as much as supporting Malam Nasir El-Rufai,” he said. “He was presented to us as a nationalist. But what we saw was politics of exclusion, politics of discrimination, and divide-and-rule. He thrives in crisis by knocking people’s heads together.”

Kure recounted how he, alongside other APC pioneers, helped build the party structure in Kaduna and delivered the ticket to El-Rufai, who at the time had little political base. According to him, the image of El-Rufai as a unifying figure quickly unravelled once he assumed office.

“He used religion and ethnicity to achieve his goals. He pitted communities against each other so he could have his way. That is not leadership, that is manipulation,” Kure declared.

Pressed on why he continued to serve under El-Rufai despite these misgivings, Kure explained that his disillusionment grew gradually. He had served in multiple roles including local government chairman, executive secretary of the Kaduna State Emergency Management Agency, and political adviser, but he said he eventually saw through what he called the governor’s divisive style.

“I did not know he was a bad person at first. The truth became clear during his leadership,” Kure said. “The Bible says you can do nothing against the truth but for the truth. We endured him because of the party, but we always believed the future would bring someone to redeem the ills he inflicted on the people of Kaduna.”