Lukman defends Mallam el-Rufai, attacks Gov Sani, Tinubu

The immediate former National Vice Chairman, North-west, of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Salihu Moh. Lukman has told Kaduna State Governor Uba Sani that his days in office are numbered, as he would be voted out alongside President Bola Tinubu in the next three years.

Lukman criticised Sani for waging war against his benefactor, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, saying the governor was fighting a proxy war for the presidency.

The former vice chairman warned the governor that the campaign to defeat APC and President Asiwaju Tinubu had just started and would take root in Kaduna State.

In a piece titled ‘Issues of Politics and Governance in Kaduna: The Truth,’ dated 13th 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 Governor Uba Sani was setting a precedence that would eventually hurt him.

“I am honestly worried for you. You are setting a precedence that will hurt you. All I can say is, be careful. Maximum, in the next seven 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 Bola Ahmed Tinubu have clearly 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, my hope was that you would create 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 one 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 Tinubu did not embrace reforms, you will be collateral damage. Take it from me: the campaign to defeat APC and President Tinubu is just starting, and it will take root in Kaduna State!” He said. 

While declaring that no ex-governor of Kaduna state has executed development initiatives in the state the way el-Rufai did, Lukman said the issue of the probe should have been handled differently.

“Coming back to the issue of proxy fight, the probe by the House of Assembly is being orchestrated by Hon. Ibrahim Zailani, former Speaker of the House of Assembly. The truth is that before you emerged as the candidate of the party, the animosity between you and Hon. Zailani was deeper, and it is to the credit of Mallam that he, in his way, moderated you and prevented you from getting Hon. Zailani impeached as Speaker. Now, suddenly, you have become the best allies against Mallam.

“For the records, I am not opposed to probes. But I am opposed to wildcat unplanned probes without clear objectives of what we want to achieve. I believe that Mallam has his strengths and weaknesses, and one of his weaknesses is being loyal to his associates. Certainly, Mal. Balarabe Lawal Abbas and you are in the front row among his associates. It is sad to see how, within a short period after the exit of Mallam, things have degenerated among all of you. No doubt, Mallam would have taken responsibility for several things, but the fact is that it reflects your poor leadership of the state in the last one year.

He stated, “Partly because of poor leadership, the narrative is that it is the Presidency that is also covertly pushing you. It is no secret that the Presidency is opposed to Mallam, which is responsible for all the avoidable drama around Mallam’s Ministerial nomination. This is most unfortunate.”