Human rights activist, Mahdi Shehu, has linked former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai’s present political isolation to his earlier confrontation with northern elders over the 2023 presidential election, arguing that those he once dismissed as politically irrelevant may now be unwilling to intervene on his behalf.

Shehu made the claim while discussing El-Rufai’s ongoing legal troubles, saying the former governor had alienated influential northern figures when he openly challenged their opposition to President Bola Tinubu’s presidential bid ahead of the 2023 election.

According to Shehu, El-Rufai’s argument at the time was that those described as northern elders lacked the electoral authority to determine the region’s political direction. He recalled that the former governor had even challenged the elders to contest elections if they considered themselves influential political leaders.

The activist argued that the consequences of that confrontation were now becoming apparent, particularly as El-Rufai faces continuing court proceedings and remains embroiled in a series of corruption-related cases. The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has confirmed multiple ongoing cases against the former governor, including charges bordering on alleged abuse of office, fraud and money laundering.

Shehu said the situation was significant because, in his view, some of the northern elders who could have used their influence to seek political intervention for El-Rufai were now keeping their distance because of his previous treatment of them.

He illustrated his argument by referring to an unnamed northern elder whom he said had sufficient influence to enter President Bola Tinubu’s office without an appointment and potentially plead for El-Rufai. Shehu suggested that such intervention might have been possible if El-Rufai had not previously disparaged northern elders.

The remarks come against the backdrop of renewed criticism of El-Rufai by a coalition of northern elders. On September 7, the Coalition of Northern Elders for Peace and Development defended Defence Minister Christopher Musa against criticism arising from his assessment of El-Rufai’s administration, insisting that the former governor’s eight-year record in Kaduna should be subjected to public scrutiny.

El-Rufai’s earlier dispute with northern elders over Tinubu’s candidacy was publicly documented. In 2023, he described those he called northern elders as “paperweights” and argued that the governors of the northern states were the region’s real political elders, while declaring his support for Tinubu’s presidential ambition