{"id":24945,"date":"2025-04-29T16:53:04","date_gmt":"2025-04-29T16:53:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fctnewsgazette.com\/?p=24945"},"modified":"2025-04-29T16:53:05","modified_gmt":"2025-04-29T16:53:05","slug":"opposition-can-topple-tinubu-without-governors-backing-says-el-rufai","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fctnewsgazette.com\/?p=24945","title":{"rendered":"Opposition Can Topple Tinubu Without Governors&#8217; Backing, Says El-Rufai"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>By Mahdi Waziri Isa <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Nasir El-Rufai, former Kaduna State governor, has asserted that Nigeria\u2019s growing opposition movement can unseat President Bola Tinubu in 2027\u2014even without the support of state governors.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">El-Rufai, who recently joined the Social Democratic Party (SDP) after leaving the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), made the remarks during a media engagement in Kano on Monday. He argued that while Tinubu may rally every governor behind him, victory ultimately rests with the electorate.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cA governor has only one vote. Nigerians have many more votes than one governor or even 36 governors combined,\u201d he said, emphasizing a strategy focused on mobilizing ordinary voters rather than political elites.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The comments follow speculation about opposition alliances, particularly after a recent visit by former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and other coalition figures to ex-President Muhammadu Buhari. However, PDP governors have denied any merger plans, with their forum publicly dismissing coalition talks after a meeting in Ibadan.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">El-Rufai dismissed the significance of governors&#8217; support, recalling Tinubu\u2019s 2023 loss in Lagos despite having an incumbent governor.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe president had a sitting governor in Lagos\u2014and still lost Lagos. So, what is the real value of a governor?\u201d he questioned.  Reflecting on his own failed efforts to deliver Kaduna for Tinubu as governor, he added: \u201cI fought hard to deliver President Tinubu in my state, but I lost. That taught me a hard lesson\u2014that elections are ultimately decided by the people, not by political figures.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The former governor clarified that the coalition\u2019s goal is not a merger with the PDP, which he called a \u201cspent force.\u201d Instead, the movement seeks to build a credible alternative under the SDP banner.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe are not looking at political parties that are already ravaged by internal conflicts. We are building something fresh, something that will inspire hope,\u201d he said.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">El-Rufai also addressed potential presidential candidates, stating that the focus remains on strengthening the platform before selecting flagbearers.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe have told all those with presidential aspirations: put aside your ambitions for now. Join us as equal members and help us build a credible alternative,\u201d he insisted.  <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Mahdi Waziri Isa Nasir El-Rufai, former Kaduna State governor, has asserted that Nigeria\u2019s growing opposition movement can unseat President Bola Tinubu in 2027\u2014even without the support of state governors. El-Rufai, who recently joined the Social Democratic Party (SDP) after leaving the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), made the remarks during a media engagement in Kano on Monday. He argued that while Tinubu may rally every governor behind him, victory ultimately rests with the electorate. \u201cA governor has only one vote. Nigerians have many more votes than one governor or even 36 governors combined,\u201d he said, emphasizing a strategy focused on mobilizing ordinary voters rather than political elites. The comments follow speculation about opposition alliances, particularly after a recent visit by former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and other coalition figures to ex-President Muhammadu Buhari. However, PDP governors have denied any merger plans, with their forum publicly dismissing coalition talks after a meeting in Ibadan. El-Rufai dismissed the significance of governors&#8217; support, recalling Tinubu\u2019s 2023 loss in Lagos despite having an incumbent governor. \u201cThe president had a sitting governor in Lagos\u2014and still lost Lagos. So, what is the real value of a governor?\u201d he questioned. Reflecting on his own failed efforts to deliver Kaduna for Tinubu as governor, he added: \u201cI fought hard to deliver President Tinubu in my state, but I lost. That taught me a hard lesson\u2014that elections are ultimately decided by the people, not by political figures.\u201d The former governor clarified that the coalition\u2019s goal is not a merger with the PDP, which he called a \u201cspent force.\u201d Instead, the movement seeks to build a credible alternative under the SDP banner. \u201cWe are not looking at political parties that are already ravaged by internal conflicts. We are building something fresh, something that will inspire hope,\u201d he said. El-Rufai also addressed potential presidential candidates, stating that the focus remains on strengthening the platform before selecting flagbearers. \u201cWe have told all those with presidential aspirations: put aside your ambitions for now. Join us as equal members and help us build a credible alternative,\u201d he insisted.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":24946,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[50],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-24945","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/fctnewsgazette.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24945","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/fctnewsgazette.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/fctnewsgazette.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fctnewsgazette.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fctnewsgazette.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=24945"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/fctnewsgazette.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24945\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":24947,"href":"https:\/\/fctnewsgazette.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24945\/revisions\/24947"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fctnewsgazette.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/24946"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/fctnewsgazette.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=24945"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fctnewsgazette.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=24945"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fctnewsgazette.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=24945"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}