Human rights activist, Mahdi Shehu, has claimed reliance on former governor Nasir El-Rufai is political suicide.
According to him, El-Rufai is now a political burden, and opposition parties that choose to rely on him for electoral advantage are setting themselves up for failure.
Shehu made these remarks in a post on X (formerly Twitter) on Tuesday, using the poor performance of the African Democratic Congress in the Basawa State Constituency as an example. The ADC secured just 146 votes out of the total 17,452 cast in the poll.
“Any party that scored 146 votes out of 17,452 votes casted is a party in destitution, an outcast and orphaned no matter the crowd it mobilized during the electioneering campaign,” he wrote.
He added that the rejection of the ADC and its allied parties in Basawa, Zaria Kewaye, and Chikun/Kajuru constituencies is a direct reflection of public sentiment toward El-Rufai’s political influence.
“Zaria people and voters have not forgotten, neither have their schooling children, nor their pensioners, teachers and health workers,” Shehu wrote.
Commenting on the ADC’s poor electoral performance, Shehu said it should be a moment of reflection for El-Rufai. “The 146 votes scored by ADC means he needs to go into soul searching, repent, ask for forgiveness and seek the face of God,” he added.
Shehu also issued a warning to opposition parties such as the PDP, SDP, LP, and ADC, urging them not to count on El-Rufai for electoral gains.
“It also sends a clear message to ADC/SDP/PDP/LP, that while El-RUFAI may be vocal, relying on him for their success in future elections is a clear SUICIDE mission and a CASINO with a blind player. A mental giant could as well turn out to be a political destitute with no value on election day.”
While acknowledging what he described as an “impressive outing” by the PDP in the by-elections, Shehu emphasized that political parties must be deliberate in their choice of allies and strategists.
“If ADC, SDP, PDP and LP wish to make any impact in the coming elections, they must rely on actors with minimal toxic political backlog, not those who have inflicted deep political lacerations on people,” he advised.
He ended his commentary with a pointed proverb: “Every day for the thief, one day for the owners. It is an initial harvest time for El-Rufai.”
In the Basawa Constituency by-election, the APC secured 10,996 votes, followed by the PDP with 5,499, SDP with 811, and ADC trailing with just 146 votes.
