By Dansu Peter In a dramatic shift on the Nigerian political landscape, former Kaduna State Governor Nasir Ahmad El-Rufai has officially r...
By Dansu Peter
In a dramatic shift on the Nigerian political landscape, former Kaduna State Governor Nasir Ahmad El-Rufai has officially resigned from the All Progressives Congress (APC), citing a loss of alignment between his personal values and the party’s current leadership. He has now joined the Social Democratic Party (SDP), setting the stage for a potential realignment ahead of the 2027 elections.
El-Rufai, a founding member of the APC and one of the architects of the party’s formation in 2013, made the announcement in a statement issued today, emphasizing his disappointment with the direction of the ruling party. According to him, the APC’s leadership has "castrated its organs and treated its membership with contempt", making it impossible for him to remain within its fold.
The former governor, who served two terms in Kaduna from 2015 to 2023, highlighted his contributions to the APC’s electoral victories in 2015, 2019, and 2023, but lamented that the party had strayed from its founding principles. He accused those currently in charge of ignoring internal concerns and failing to address the party’s declining democratic values.
After concluding wide-ranging consultations with his political allies, El-Rufai submitted his resignation letter to his ward in Kaduna, effective immediately, and pledged his commitment to building the SDP as a viable alternative to the APC. He called on opposition figures and other political stakeholders to "congregate under a unified democratic platform" to challenge the ruling party in upcoming elections.
"I will focus on engaging with and persuading other opposition leaders and parties to join us and challenge the APC in all elections and bye-elections between now and 2027," El-Rufai stated.
His defection to the SDP marks one of the most significant political movements ahead of the 2027 elections, with analysts speculating that his departure could signal broader discontent within the APC.
As the political landscape continues to evolve, all eyes will be on how El-Rufai’s move reshapes opposition dynamics and whether the SDP can emerge as a formidable force against the ruling party.
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