Former Kaduna governor Nasir el-Rufai says that in order to “save” Nigeria, the north must establish an alliance with the south-south.
“The north and south-south have a strong historical political partnership,” el-Rufai remarked Friday while paying a condolence visit to the family of Edwin Clark, the late elder statesman and Niger Delta champion who passed away on February 17.
“In the 60s, 70s and 80s, the traditional political partners of the north was the south-south. Let us not forget that. Let us go back to that. Let us save this country because it requires saving. We need a rescue operation,” el-Rufai said.
There have been discussions of forming alliances and coalitions with opposition party politicians to have “strategic meetings” before to the general election in 2027.
El-Rufai, who was led to the condolence visit by Atiku Abubakar, said the former vice-president deserves credit for spearheading economic reforms during the Olusegun Obasanjo administration.
Abubakar was vice president to former president Olusegun Obasanjo’s government from 1999 to 2007.
The former governor has been meeting members of opposition parties in recent weeks.
READ ALSO: ‘Greatness Breeds Envy’ – Abacha’s Son Defends Late Father Amid Fresh Criticism
In January, el-Rufai met with Hamza Al-Mustapha, ex-aide to late Sani Abacha; Shehu Gabam, national chairman of the Social Democratic Party (PDP); and other politicians in the nation’s capital.
Segun Showunmi, a former spokesperson of the Atiku Abubakar campaign organisation, said the meeting was to strategise ahead of the 2027 elections.
There have been speculations that el-Rufai has been working to pitch his political tent elsewhere.
Last month, el-Rufai said the distance between him and the All Progressives Congress (APC) is “widening”.
