Shehu Sani: El-Rufai was a liability to APC, his departure is good riddance

Shehu Sani, a former senator, has taken a swipe at Nasir el-Rufai, the ex-governor of Kaduna who left the All Progressives Congress (APC) on Monday. 

El-Rufai announced that he would be joining the Social Democratic Party (SDP).

The former governor said his values no longer align with the ruling party’s and vowed to collaborate with leaders of opposition parties to work against the APC in future elections.

Reacting to the development during an interview on Channels Television, Sani said the former Kaduna governor had become a liability to the APC.

The human rights activist, who recently rejoined the APC, said el-Rufai sent many party members into the forest, but today, he has gone into the wilderness.

Sani added that el-Rufai’s defection has no political consequences for the APC, assuring that the party would win the presidential and governorship elections in Kaduna in 2027.

“For those of us from Kaduna state, it is good riddance, because he stands as a liability to the party in the state. I can back this with facts. In 2015, APC had two senators,” he said.

“By 2023, all the senatorial zones were taken over by the PDP and out of the 14 house of representative seats in Kaduna state under Nasir, by the time he left, nine of the seats were won by the PDP and two by the Labour Party and three by the APC.

“And with him as governor, the APC lost the presidential election in Kaduna state, with Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu polling about 399,273 votes and Atiku polling about 554,360 votes.

“You can see that by the time he left, the party was already an unpopular platform in the state.

“His exit now is an opportunity for the governor and the party members in the state to embrace the people of the state and set the party towards the next election.

“And it is said by Shakespeare that the evil men do live after them. Nasir evicted so many people out of the party on the basis that he was the alpha and omega.

“Today, all that he has done has returned to him. I think in the past, people wait for the day of judgment. It is dramatic nowadays.

“He evicted us out of the party and was proud to have said that he has sent us to the forest and today the Lord has evicted him to the wilderness.”