My attention has once again been drawn to a purported written agreement being circulated in the public space and falsely attributed to me.
For the avoidance of doubt, I wish to state unequivocally that I never signed any written agreement with Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq undertaking not to contest the 2027 election.
What existed, at best, was a gentleman’s understanding between myself and Dr. Ibrahim Ghali, a family friend and close confidant of Dr. Alimi AbdulRazaq, the elder brother of the Governor. The understanding was to the effect that a letter be done to indicate that I would not seek re-election to the Senate in 2027, subject strictly to a reciprocal commitment by the Governor and his family to support my governorship aspiration.
Dr. Ghali, whom I believed was acting in good faith, proposed this arrangement on the premise that such a commitment from me would strengthen his efforts to calm and persuade the AbdulRazaq family whose head, Dr. Alimi Abdulrazak, was widely rumoured then to be interested in the senate race in 2027. He made it clear to me that he was undertaking this initiative on his own volition and not on the instruction or authority of either the Governor or any member of his family.
The terms of that understanding were subsequently reduced into writing and signed by me. However, the document I signed is materially different from the one now being circulated. For the avoidance of doubt, the version in circulation is not the same document I executed.
Its numerous inaccuracies—including the misspelling of my name as “Solihu Mustapha” instead of the name I have consistently borne and signed throughout my life, “Saliu Mustapha,” as well as the incorrect residential address attributed to me—further expose the document as a fabrication.
When this false document first surfaced some time ago, I publicly debunked it but chose not to pursue the matter further because I did not consider it worthy of sustained attention. Its renewed circulation, however, has made this clarification necessary.
Accordingly, I categorically reject the purported document and its contents in their entirety and call on those responsible for its fabrication and continued circulation to desist forthwith.
Senator Saliu Mustapha
No. 3, Abdullahi Mohammed Street,
Off University of Ilorin Road,
Tanke, Ilorin.