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Claim: Facebook user, Sroc Partner, shared an image of Nasir El-Rufai alleging he is now a churchgoer, as part of the campaign for his 2027 presidential ambition.
Verdict: Misleading. El-Rufai had posted the picture in the claim on his X page with a caption saying he was in Okija, Anambra State, to attend the funeral mass of an associate.
Full Text
On May 3, 2025, a Facebook user named Sroc Partner posted a picture of the former governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai, flanked by people in a gathering.
The post caption read, “2027: Malam Nasir El-Rufai now attends church services to appease the same Christian community he previously expressed strong sentiments against. Behold our new Bishop in the making.”
As of May 8, 2025, the post had garnered 228 comments, 41 shares, and 290 reactions.
This sparked debate among many users, with many condemning El-Rufai for attending a church service to buy their sympathy for his presidential ambition.
Comments include those of Lekan Awe, who wrote: “Deceit of the highest order! Persecuting Christians when in office as governor. Naija politicians no go die well, walahi.”
Olalekan Quadri also wrote, “Elrufai is a disgrace to his constituency, the few Fulani elites who are teaming up to grab power again to oppress the Nigerian masses. He will never succeed in sha Allah Ameen.”
Another Facebook user, Ojo Victor Echo, posted the same image on May 2, 2025, with the caption “Wonder shall never end, former Gov, NASIRU EL-RUFAI in church service.”
The same image was also shared on Facebook, here, and here, and on YouTube.
Recently, El-Rufai has been in the news, and different narratives have been told about him, especially after he defected to a new political party.
The virality of the claim and the personality involved prompted DUBAWA to verify the claim.
Verification
DUBAWA conducted a reverse image search and discovered that El-Rufai had posted the picture on his X account on May 1, 2025. He shared that he joined the Anohu family at a funeral mass.
El-Rufai’s post caption reads, “We joined the Anohu family at the funeral mass held this morning in Okija for Chief Mathias Chidi Anohu. May his kind soul rest in peace.”
Is El-Rufai now a Christian?
El-Rufai, who served as Governor of Kaduna State for eight years, defected in March 2025 from the All Progressives Congress (APC) to the Social Democratic Party (SDP). He aims to persuade opposition leaders and parties to join him and challenge the sitting All Progressives Congress (APC) in 2027.
In terms of religion, all available news reports like this one show El-Rufai is a known Muslim.
So far, there are no reports of his conversion to Christianity.
Conclusion
The claim that El-Rufai is now a churchgoer as part of the campaign for his 2027 Presidential ambition is misleading. An X post by El-Rufai revealed the image was from a funeral mass.
