Senator Shehu Sani, representing Kaduna Central at the National Assembly, has described the state governor, Nasir el-Rufai, as “unpopular.”
Mr Sani made this statement on Thursday on an Arise TV programme, Nigeria 2019.
Sani, who is contesting for the Senate on the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP) platform, also said the governor had not achieved anything since 2015.
The senator had dumped the All Progressives Congress (APC) for the PRP three days after he was denied the ticket to contest for the Senate on the APC platform.
His rift with the state governor was believed to have cost him the ticket.
Sani said the PRP was a major threat to the APC in Kaduna State, saying, “This is why every morning and evening, they destroy our billboards and tear our posters. They are persecuting our members. If we were inconsequential, they would have ignored us.”
He alleged that the fact that “el-Rufai had a hand” in denying him the APC ticket didn’t mean anything.
“The question is, can he win? The fact is that he is one of the most unpopular governors in the history of Kaduna State.
“The President (Muhammadu Buhari) has been to the state for many times, but how many times have you seen him inaugurating a project in the state?
“The first time the President went there, he was given a honorary degree from a university that had not started a PhD programme; the second time he was in the state was to inaugurate Olam, a company from Singapore.
“The third time was to inaugurate a project by the Ministry of Transport. So, he (el-Rufai) has not done anything and we are going to remove him out of power. That is a fact,” Sani said.
The lawmaker explained that he and el-Rufai had always been at loggerheads because of their political and ideological differences.
