Former Senator Shehu Sani has mocked ex-Kaduna governor Nasir el-Rufai following the latter’s defection from the All Progressives Congress (APC) to the Social Democratic Party (SDP).
El-Rufai had announced his resignation from the ruling party on Monday, citing irreconcilable differences with the current APC leadership and pledging to unite opposition parties against the APC in future elections.
Reacting during an interview with Channels Television, Senator Sani, who recently rejoined the APC, said that the exit of El-Rufai is good news for the party, describing him as a political liability.
“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.
He further explained that APC’s popularity under El-Rufai’s leadership sharply declined in Kaduna state, as reflected in recent election results:
“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.”
Sani pointed out that the APC’s poor electoral performance under El-Rufai even affected its chances in the presidential election.
“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,” Sani explained, emphasizing that El-Rufai had significantly weakened the party’s grassroots appeal.
He noted that El-Rufai’s departure now provides the APC in Kaduna a much-needed opportunity to reconnect with the electorate and regain political strength.
Drawing a parallel from Shakespeare, Sani suggested that El-Rufai’s current fate is poetic justice.
“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,” Sani said, adding: “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 reminded the public of El-Rufai’s past boastful remarks, suggesting that his actions had now backfired.
“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,” Sani concluded.
