ABUJA — As political realignments intensify ahead of Nigeria’s 2027 presidential election, a legal expert has cautioned former Vice President Atiku Abubakar against forming a political alliance with ex-Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai. The warning follows growing public speculation over the former governor’s recent defection from the All Progressives Congress (APC) to the Social Democratic Party (SDP) and his visible interactions with Atiku, the 2023 presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
In an exclusive interview with Legit.ng, legal practitioner Oladotun Hassan questioned the credibility and reliability of El-Rufai as a political ally, warning Atiku to reconsider any partnership with the former minister and governor.
"I think Atiku should have learnt that Nasir El-Rufai is always quick to announce himself as the most clever and cleanest person in the political space, as if he doesn't have any holes in his cupboard. This kind of man is deceitful," Hassan stated.
He recalled past political tensions, particularly El-Rufai’s strained relationships with other prominent political figures, including former Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola, and President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
"He was the same man who went to the kind of Aregbesola to blow his head that they should stop promoting godfatherism and setting him against Asiwaju, and they're worst of enemies today, which ought not to be," he added.
The legal analyst described El-Rufai as a political actor with a tendency to create instability in relationships and institutions.
"Maybe because of his name, he is always putting unnecessary hellfire into places, burning down bridges, especially bridges of friendship. If you bring him into space to occupy, play different gazette for different people, and he will always go his way, when that place is destroyed."
Hassan also raised concerns over El-Rufai’s political history with Atiku, noting that the former vice president once supported El-Rufai's rise in public office, only to be politically undermined by him later.
"I don't think Atiku, who brought El-Rufai to Obasanjo, who equally raised El-Rufai as one of his boys, when El-Rufai wanted to dish Atiku, he dished him ruthlessly, and he was one of the people who destroyed Atiku's political career," he said.
He further questioned the strategic viability of an alliance between the PDP and SDP, arguing that both parties lack ideological and organisational alignment.
"It would have even been better if their political party were on the same page. SDP is singing a different song. PDP is singing a different song that they're not ready to align with. What has SDP provided to be the face of opposition? Being a face of opposition is not just a clarion whistle that people are now forming a quorum in your bedroom."
The comments come as political figures begin subtle positioning ahead of the next electoral cycle, with talks of coalitions and new alignments dominating early conversations about who might challenge the incumbent president in 2027.