El-Rufai: I Will Return To The Trenches And Make Sure You And Tinubu Leave Power In Three Years

A former National Vice Chairman, North-west, of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Salihu Lukman, has berated the governor of Kaduna State, Uba Sani, for waging war against his predecessor, Nasir El-Rufai.

Lukman fumed that the governor’s days in office are numbered, adding that he would be voted out alongside President Bola Tinubu in the next three years.

He accused the governor of fighting a proxy war for the presidency.

Lukman warned Sani that the campaign to defeat APC and President Tinubu has just started and it will take root in Kaduna State.

He asserted that he has made up his mind to return to the trenches and resume mobilisation to get the governor and the president out of power come 2027.

In a letter titled “Issues of Politics and Governance in Kaduna: The Truth”, dated 13 June 2024 and copied to Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, Ramalan Yero, Rt. Hon. Abbas Tajudeen, Mal. B. A. Law-al, Hon. Garba Datti, Sen. Suleiman Hunkuyi, Alh. Yusuf Mairago, Alh. Lawal Samaila Yakawad, Alh. Bashir Abubakar Alhaji and Mal. Mohammed Sani Dattijo, Lukman said the governor was setting a precedent that would eventually hurt him.

He said; “I am honestly worried for you. You are setting a precedent that will hurt you. All I can say is, be careful. Maximum, in the next 7 years, you will be out. You must recognize that without Mallam, it would almost have been impossible for you to rise to where you are today.

”’The privilege of being a Governor has an expiry date. In your case, if you are lucky, another seven years. But from the way things are unfolding, I believe the default expiry date for your tenure is another three years. Both you and President Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu have sent out the worrisome signals of being anything but democrats.

“Unfortunately, both President Asiwaju Tinubu and you have alienated yourselves and you are behaving as autocrats and if left unchecked, whatever has been achieved under this democracy in the last 25 years will be destroyed. When you invited some of us to a meeting about two months ago, I hoped that you had created the handle to help correct that. Sadly, it was reduced to a photo opportunity and the next thing I heard was that there were people among members of the group who were threatened by the presence of some people and had exploited their closeness with you to demobilize the group.

“Consequently, from a situation whereby the group was to reconvene after two weeks, more than months now, no meeting is being contemplated. This is consistent with the tradition in APC. APC is about the only political party in the world that exists without holding meetings and leaders are comfortable with that. This certainly is not the democracy we fought for. Although you claimed to be among those who fought for democracy, I am not sure from the way you are managing things, you can justify your contributions to the struggle for democracy in Nigeria.

“Mallam Uba, like I said, I am talking to you as a senior brother. The way I have been treated in the last year has pushed me to review whether I want to continue to live with the frustration of watching our hard-earned labour go down the drain. I lived all my life campaigning for a better society. It is my resolve that our current reality doesn’t project the kind of society we want

“I have therefore made up my mind to return to the trenches and resume mobilisation for change. Unless APC and you our leaders embrace change and return to some level of sanity, this will require that we mobilize and get you out of power in 2027 at all levels.

“I wish I could spare you. But given that at the end of the day, politics is local, even if you accept to reform yourself but President Asiwaju Tinubu did not embrace reforms, you will be collateral damage. Take it from me, the campaign to defeat APC and President Asiwaju Tinubu is just starting and it will take root in Kaduna State!”