Shehu Sani: El-Rufai wants to preserve my senate seat for when he leaves office

Shehu Sani, a senator representing Kaduna central, says Nasir el-Rufai is scheming to preserve his senate seat for when he leaves office as governor of Kaduna “so he can take it”.

Sani left the APC after he lost the party’s ticket to Uba Sani, el-Rufai’s candidate, despite having the backing of the national working committee.

The senator, who recently joined Peoples Redemption Party (PRP), spoke about his exit from the APC in an interview on Sunday Politics, a Channels Television programme.

Sani said the Kaduna governor “has an overbearing influence” on Adams Oshiomhole, national chairman of the APC, and President Muhammadu Buhari.

He denied demanding automatic ticket from the APC while noting that the party failed to address his “running battle” with el-Rufai.

“There was no time I demanded that I should be given automatic ticket. Last July, there was an uprising in the national party whereby legislators decided to decamp and I was part of the team but I was held back through the intervention of Bola Tinubu and President Buhari.

“They gave me the assurance that the issues prompting me to leave the party will be addressed.

“There were discussions and promises whereby those of us who have raised issues of problems with governors of our state will be addressed.

“For you to emerge as a candidate in the APC, first of all, you have to have somebody close to the seat of power, secondly if you are in the favoured book of the governor.”

The senator criticised the present shape of the APC, describing it as “a party that came with a lot of promises, pledges but it has not been able to dispense justice to its members.

“It is unfortunate that a party that has promised to change this country cannot even deliver change to itself.”

He said the party may disintegrate once President Muhammadu Buhari leaves office.

“Buhari remains the heart, soul and the oxygen of the party. I don’t think after Buhari there can be APC again,” he said.

On the president’s re-election chances, he said: “It is possible for him to win but not on the kind of political atmosphere we have found ourselves within the party. The party is in a very bad shape.”