SSA Reacts To The Alleged Rift Between El-Rufai, Osinbajo

Laolu Akande, the senior special assistant (SSA) on media and publicity to the Vice President, has debunked report of a rift between Yemi Osinbajo and Governor Nasir el’Rufai of Kaduna state.

According to him, it was a bunch of lies sponsored by political dissidents who want to cause hostility in the country, NAN reports.

“There is no truth to the story. It is outright falsehood. This is an invention; somebody sat somewhere and invented a lie. It is outright fabrication,” he said.

Speaking on Tuesday, October 6 in Abuja, the SSA said Osinbajo and el’Rufai had a cordial relationship and they had been friends even before they got to their current positions.

Nigeria’s Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo and Kaduna state governor, Nasir El-Rufai after a meeting on Thursday, September 17, 2015

Recall that there was a report that claimed Governor el-Rufai insulted the vice president which prompted him to walk out of a meeting being chaired by President Muhammadu Buhari at Aso Rock Villa.

READ ALSO: El-Rufai And Osinbajo: The Neverending Power Struggle

However, Akande said there has never been any such meeting where the vice president and the governor had an altercation.

He explained that the report was no different from previous similar and baseless ones published online against top presidential officials which lacked evidence or details.

The SSA described the publication as “journalistic scandal,” saying journalists should be outraged and speak out against such recklessness.

“This is an offence against the cause and practice of the media profession and I know that journalists who are in this profession will be and should be outraged by this,” he said.

Akande challenged those behind the publication to provide proof that what they published was true or retract the story.

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The SSA advised Nigerians to beware of false publications by non-professionals, adding that the focus should be on the Buhari-led administration’s anti-corruption and terror war which were yielding results.

When contacted on phone, Muyiwa Adekeye, the image maker of the Kaduna state governor, , said he would not react to rumour and falsehood.

After the rumuored altercation, a picture had surfaced of the pair smiling when El-Rufai hosted Osinbajo, putting an end to the publication.

Meanwhile, Osinbajo said the anti-corruption war remained one of the major focuses of Muhammadu Buhari’s administration.

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