El-Rufai vows to fight on until Shehu Sani is stopped from standing as APC senatorial candidate

GOVERNOR Nasir El-Rufai has vowed to oppose the granting of an automatic ticket to Kaduna Central Senatorial District's Senator Shehu Sani by the All Progressives Congress (APC) saying the errant lawmaker must be punished for his past sins.

Earlier this week, the Kaduna State chapter of the APC cleared Senator Sani as its candidate in next year's elections to the chagrin of Governor El-Rufai who immediately stormed off to Abuja to meet President Muhammadu Buhari over the matter. He pointed out that granting Senator Sani a ticket would lead to the APC losing the seat, adding that the senator had caused the state to miss out on a N100bn World Bank loan that could have been used for development.

After his meeting with the president, Governor El-Rufai pointed out that President Buhari had directed him to initiate the recall of Senator Sani, over acts of contempt and disloyalty. In the letter sent to President Buhari on October 2, Governor El-Rufai listed a compendium of sins committed by Senator Sani against him, the president and the APC

According to the governor, the senator called the president’s three years tenure as a failure and also ridiculed his medical trip to London. Governor El-Rufai said Senator Sani through his reckless actions made the senate deny Kaduna State $350m.

His letter read:  “When your excellency travelled to London in April 2018 for medical consultation, Shehu Sani ridiculed it on Facebook as Voyage to London, Season 3. In May 2018, he lamented what he said was Buhari’ s three years of failure to protect human lives and in the same month, he wrote that Baba should protect his testicle from any man who always bends down to greet him.

“Your excellency will recall that earlier this year, you directed me to initiate processes to recall Shehu Sani from the senate to punish his repeated acts of contempt and disloyalty. Following your directive, our team in Kaduna studied what was being done in Kogi state regarding the recall of Dino Melaye and drew up a budget.

Upon examination of the costs and loopholes in the recall process as brutally exposed in Dino Melaye’s case and in recognition of the immense preparations for the next elections, it was decided that it may be more prudent to oust him at the ballot. The party executives in his ward in Kaduna suspended him from APC in December 2015 for negative comments about your excellency, which was later extended to indefinite suspension in 2016.”

According to Governor El-Rufai, it is clear that the APC does not need Senator Sani but that the lawmaker needs the party. He added that the senator opted to leave the ruling party for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) but that the arrangement suffered a setback after he failed to secure a senatorial ticket.