Former Niger Delta militant leader and Mayor of Urhoboland, Eshanekpe Israel, popularly known as Akpodoro, has lashed out at ex-Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai over his recent comments on the 2027 general elections. Akpodoro declared that the South-South region has learned from the past and will not be swayed into aligning with the North against President Bola Tinubu’s administration.
Speaking in Abuja on Monday while hosting leaders of thought from the Niger Delta, Akpodoro dismissed el-Rufai’s reported call for a North-South-South alliance to wrest power from Tinubu in 2027. He stated that such a move is dead on arrival, as the people of the region will not make the same mistake they did in 2015 when they helped unseat their own, former President Goodluck Jonathan.
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According to Akpodoro, El-Rufai is overestimating his influence, claiming that he has little to no political following in the North, let alone in the South-South. He accused the former governor of leaving behind a legacy of “sorrows, pains, and blood” in Kaduna State after his eight-year tenure. He further praised President Tinubu for rescuing Southern Kaduna residents from the grip of bloodthirsty bandits, something he said el-Rufai failed to do.
The ex-militant leader insisted that Northerners have become more politically conscious and can now see through politicians like El-Rufai, whom he described as self-serving and out of touch with the struggles of the common people. He alleged that El-Rufai ruled Kaduna with an iron fist, a move that nearly cost the APC its victory in the state.
