Former Senator representing Kaduna Central, Shehu Sani, has stated that the former Governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai, was responsible for the All Progressives Congress’ (APC) defeat in the 2023 presidential election.
OsunDailyNG reports that Sani made this known while speaking on Hard Copy, a programme on Channels Television, on Friday.
The former lawmaker asserted that El-Rufai is disgruntled and pained due to his criticism of President Bola Tinubu’s government and the APC.
According to him, the former Governor failed to deliver Kaduna for Tinubu despite claims of contributing to Tinubu’s emergence as President.
Sani further criticised El-Rufia over his failure to reconcile the various factions within the APC in the state.
He said, “From my understanding, the former governor of Kaduna state is disgruntled and pained—it’s part of the crisis of entitlement and expectations.
“But as I posted on my X page, Nasiru was governor for eight years and couldn’t deliver Kaduna to Tinubu. The results are there.
“If Nasiru claims he delivered for Tinubu, the figures say otherwise. For the first time, under him, APC lost all three senatorial seats to PDP. Out of 14 house of representatives seats, PDP won nine, Labour two, and APC only three.
“He also claims to have brought Uba Sani to office, but let’s check the numbers—PDP’s Isa Ashiru got 719,000 votes, Uba Sani 730,000, just 11,000 difference. Kaduna didn’t vote for Uba because of Nasiru; in fact, Uba lost votes because of him.
“This was a man campaigning for Uba on one hand while publicly ridiculing him on the other.
“Does he believe in reconciliation? When the APC crisis in Kaduna lasted seven years, the party sent Aminu Masari, Segun Oni, Inua Abdulquadri, and John Oyegun to mediate—he refused all.
“His refusal to reconcile with APC forces in Kaduna led to major losses. If he truly believes in reconciliation, why didn’t he practise it in his own state?”
