A former member of the National Assembly, Senator Shehu Sani, has criticized the opposition coalition targeted at unseating President Bola Tinubu in the 2027 election.
According to him, the present membership of the coalition does not reflect people with the interest of Nigerians at heart, but frustrated politicians who are fighting for their personal gains.
Speaking on Sunday during an interview with newsmen in Abuja, Sani emphasized the need to have a credible and vibrant opposition so the country does not slide into dictatorship, but added that those championing the present coalition in Nigeria do not have the expected credentials.
Specifically, Naijaonpoint reports that he called out former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai, noting that the former Governor has been in the corridors of power for a long time and has not made any significant impact.
“Yes, any country or government without opposition can easily slide into a dictatorship or one-party state.
“If everyone goes into one political party and there is nobody to challenge the government or hold the government to account, our government could be run aground.
“We need a coalition and we need a credible opposition; a credible opposition should not be a canopy of frustrated and angry people, whose interest is not the country or the people, but their own selfish interest.
“There are people in this coalition whose presence will give you ghost pimples — someone like former governor of Kaduna State, Nasiru El-Rufai.
“He is not a clean political figure that came out of the trenches; he is not someone who has never been in government.
“Nigeria just celebrated 26 years of democracy and El-Rufai was the Director-General of the Bureau of Public Enterprises for four years, minister for four years, and governor for eight years, and so why did he not achieve all those things he is saying now while in office?” he queried.
On former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, Sani advised him to stop running for the presidency, but instead support someone younger for the position.
“As someone who has been in the political realm more than many other politicians, he should know that there are consequences for contesting elections every other time and losing,” the former lawmaker said.