Bashir El-Rufai retracted his ‘helpless’ remarks and apologized to Shettima

Bashir El-Rufai, son of former Kaduna State governor Nasir El-Rufai, has publicly apologized to Vice President Kashim Shettima for a controversial social media post in which he described the country’s number two citizen as “very helpless.”

In a statement shared on X on Sunday, Bashir acknowledged that his previous comments were inappropriate and expressed regret, while reaffirming his respect for the Vice President.

Tagging Shettima directly, he wrote, “I would like to use this medium to personally apologize to the Vice President of Nigeria, His Excellency Sir Kashim Shettima, for my old post calling the man helpless.

“He is someone I greatly admire and respect. That was a reckless tweet.”

The apology follows backlash over a previous post made on March 6, 2026, which has since been deleted. In his message, Bashir criticized the Vice President and urged him to take a firmer stance against alleged corruption in the Presidential Villa.

He wrote, “I love Shettima. She is so helpless. She is so helpless.”

“I hope one day he realizes that he is put in a unique place, and has the ability to bring down the entire corrupt crime family system in Villa. He has influence.”

His public retraction drew mixed reactions online, with some social media users praising him for admitting his mistake, while others questioned the sincerity of his apology and speculated about possible external pressure.

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Responding to the claims, Bashir rejected the notion of coercion, and insisted that his change of stance was voluntary.

“There is no truth in the tweet. It is unwarranted and disrespectful.

“We are not afraid of being arrested because of this party,” he added.

This development comes amidst ongoing political tensions involving his father, Nasir El-Rufai, and the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

The former governor was recently detained by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offenses Commission (ICPC) on charges bordering on corruption and money laundering.

He was then arraigned before the Federal High Court in Kaduna on March 24 on a 10-count indictment, and the hearing was adjourned to March 31, 2026, for the hearing of his pending applications, including his bail application.

However, he was later granted temporary release from ICPC custody to attend the funeral of his mother, Hajiya Umma El-Rufai, which took place on Sunday.