Former Governor Kaduna State and a founding member of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Nasir El-Rufai, has officially parted ways with the ruling party, opting to join the Social Democratic Party (SDP).
His departure marks a significant shift in Nigeria’s political landscape, given his influential role in the formation and consolidation of the APC.
The former governor made this known in a press statement released on his X handle on Monday. In his remarks, he expressed his disappointment with the APC’s leadership, accusing the party of straying from the progressive ideals of its founding members.
“As a founding member of the All Progressives Congress (APC), I have fond memories of working with other compatriots to negotiate the merger of political parties that created the APC. Since 2013, I have hoped that my personal values and those of the APC will continue to align until I choose to retire from politics.
“Developments in the last two years confirm that those who currently control and run the APC do not desire to acknowledge, much less address, the party’s unhealthy situation. I have raised concerns in private and, more recently, in public regarding the party’s capricious trajectory. Therefore, at this point in my political journey, I have come to the conclusion that I must seek another political platform to pursue the progressive values I cherish.
“Founders rightly feel attached towards institutions they helped create, but one must be pragmatic enough to admit when a divergence appears unbridgeable. I have diligently served the APC and made my contributions to its viability as a political platform, but I recognize that the party has since strayed and left me stuck in the vision of its well-meaning founding fathers and mothers. As a loyal party man, I worked to help secure the APC’s election victories in 2015, 2019 and 2023. I was one of the many governors elected on the party’s platform in 2015 and 2019 that stood for certain democratic and progressive principles to advance nation-building,” he stated.
The former governor maintained that he had submitted a resignation letter from the ruling party, adding that his consultations with his mentors, colleagues, and loyalists made him settle for SDP in preparation for the 2027 general election.
“Without prejudice to this decision, as a member of the SDP, I will focus on engaging with and persuading other opposition leaders and parties to join us and congregate under a unified democratic platform to challenge the APC in all elections and bye-elections between now and 2027 by the Grace of God,” he said.
He, however, enjoined his supporters and other Nigerians to join his new party in an attempt to bring back Nigeria as a beacon of pride for Africans and the black race.
Remember that El-Rufai joined some chieftains of the ruling party to criticise the National Executive Council and Board of Trustees for not convening meetings throughout last year and did not attend the recent stakeholders’ meeting scheduled at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
He explained that the meeting lacked the required 14 to 21 days’ notice.
Also, on Sunday, he visited ex-Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola, and Pastor Tunde Bakare, in Lagos.
Photographs of the Kaduna politician posing with Aregbesola and Bakare went viral on social media.
While El-Rufai’s discussion with the two politicians was not revealed, it is believed that the visits were part of his political scheming ahead of the 2027 general elections.
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