El-Rufai: The three senators representing Kaduna are useless

Nasir el-Rufai, governor of Kaduna state, says the three senators representing his state are ignorant of the real indices of development and progress in a democratic setting.

He made the comment five weeks after the senators — Shehu Sani (Kaduna central), Sulieman Hukunyi (Kaduna north), and Danjuma Leah (Kaduna south) — blocked a $350 million loan request by the Kaduna government.

The state had sought to get the facility from the World Bank but the federal lawmakers said the loan would erode the economic viability of Kaduna.

Speaking while flagging off the All Progressives Congress (APC) campaign for the local government election in the state on Friday, el-Rufai described the lawmakers as the enemies of democracy.

The governor, who spoke in Hausa, told the thousands of people at the Kaduna Township Stadium, where the event held, that the senators conspired to stop his government from obtaining the loan to build infrastructure and develop the state.

He said the action showed that they were irresponsible and asked the people not to allow “opportunists” like them to remain in the national assembly.

He described their stay in the upper legislative chamber as a bad omen, saying they were also targeting President Muhammadu Buhari.

John Oyegun, national chairman of the party, Zainab Ahmed, minister of state for budget and national planning, were among the dignitaries at the event.

“The senators from the state who worked against the World Bank loan are useless; they came out and said this loan should not be given. What is their reason for rejecting the loan? It is because they are haters of the masses in Kaduna state,” he said.

“If a road project is initiated in your town, they don’t want it to be completed. If we start renovating a hospital, they don’t want it to be completed. If five schools are renovated and 10 are remaining, they will not want the remaining 10 to be renovated.

“Today, there are no haters of the masses of Kaduna state like Shehu Sani, Suleiman Hunkuyi and Danjuma Laah, God will curse them. God will reward their wickedness against the masses, may God never bless them. All members of the house of representatives from this state, God bless them, may God return them to their seats in 2019.

“Members of our state assembly who gave us their cooperation before the World Bank approved the loan to us, may God bless them and may God return them to their seats in 2019. But those ones that are cursed, if they come to Kaduna, shave their heads and beard. They have shown that they are bastards, they have no origin, therefore, it is important to tell them that they did not originate from this state.

“If the time for election comes, answer them with votes, show them that you don’t like them… Let them go back to where they come from. Let them go to the people they are working for to vote for them.

“I want my people to comprehend the simple logic that the three senators representing my state at the senate are starkly ignorant of the real indices of development and progress in a democratic setting,” he said.

“Their major concern is to amass money at the expense of their people. The electorate are at liberty to call their buff, and this is the right time.

“I really commend all our legislators serving satisfactorily at the house of representatives and equally thank all the legislators at the state assembly for their absolute commitment and sacrifice. I believe that with the confidence of the electorate they are earning, they are poised to surmount every obstacle.”

He promised that local government election would be credible, assuring the people that he would not tamper with the process.

El-Rufai also appealed to the people to support his party.

“In our position as democrats, we took time our time to restore the dignity of local governments to perform their functions,” he said.

“We inherited a system whereby local governments could not pay salaries without help from the state government… APC is soliciting for your support for the council polls.”