JUST IN : El-Rufai Dumps APC for SDP

The immediate-past Governor of Kaduna State, Nasir el-Rufa’i, has resigned from the ruling All Progressives Congress and defected to the Social Democratic Party (SDP).

In a statement he issued on Monday, El-Rufai expressed his disappointment with the APC’s leadership style, accusing the leadership of the party of straying from the progressive ideals of its founding members.

At this point in my political journey, I have come to the conclusion that I must seek another political platform for the pursuit of the progressive values I cherish. I have now decided to join the Social Democratic Party (SDP)

He disclosed that he had expressed concerns both privately and publicly over the party’s trajectory in the past two years but found no willingness among the current leadership to address the issues.

The former governor said, “Developments in the last two years on the part of those who currently control and run the APC to acknowledge, much less address, the unhealthy situation of the state.

“At this point in my political journey, I have come to the conclusion that I must seek another political platform for the pursuit of the progressive values I cherish.

“My eight-year tenure in Kaduna State was devoted to implementing progressive policies to advance human development. These records count for little in the current APC that has castrated its organs and treated its membership with contempt in the last two years, I find this no longer acceptable.”

El-Rufai said he submitted his resignation letter to his ward in Kaduna North Local Government Area of the North-West state.

He described the SDP as the platform for his future political engagements even as he called on his supporters and other concerned Nigerians to join him in the SDP, emphasising the need for a unified democratic platform to challenge the APC in future elections.

Buhari was Nigeria’s president between May, 2015 and May 2023.

El-Rufai’s move followed his meetings with former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, former vice presidential candidate Tunde Bakare, former President Muhammadu Buhari, among others.

His defection also came after a number of confrontations with the presidency. The former governor was not at the APC national caucus and the party’s National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting last month.