•Ex-Kaduna governor insists current situation in ruling party unhealthy
•We won’t lose sleep in Kaduna, says state party chairman
•Lukman: He should’ve allowed us join SDP as group based on ongoing negotiations
CHIGOZIE AMADI
The presidency, yesterday, said former Kaduna State governor, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai’s inordinate ambition was the reason he left the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) for the opposition Social Democratic Party (SDP), stressing that his excessive motivations are doomed to fail.
But El-Rufai insisted that the current situation in the ruling party was unhealthy, hence his decision to quit, ending months of speculation concerning his political future.
Special Adviser on Policy Communications to President Bola Tinubu, Daniel Bwala, made the assertion in a tweet.
Nevertheless, the Kaduna State chapter of APC said it would not lose sleep over El-Rufai’s defection.
At the same time, former National Vice Chairman, North-west, APC, Dr. Salihu Lukman, thought El-Rufai should have been a bit more patient before defecting, saying they could have left APC as a group based on ongoing negotiation.
Bwala said the motive for El-Rufai’s defection was suspect, stating that the former governor’s inordinate ambition made him to leave APC.
Bwala told El-Rufai, in the tweet, “I read in the news today that you resigned from APC to join SDP. Well, I have nothing against you because you exercised your constitutional right.
“However, the motive is what we would interrogate in the coming days and remind Nigerians that you are not a phenomenon that emerged like a clap of thunder out of a blue sky.
“We would intellectually remind you that associating with sore losers to unseat the incumbent is not an ideology, neither is it progressivism; it is simply an inordinate ambition, that is destined to fail.”
El-Rufai had, in a statement detailing grouses behind his exit from APC, titled, “Onwards to the future,” announced that he had joined SDP with immediate effect. He vowed to engage with and persuade other opposition leaders and parties to congregate under the party and challenge APC in all elections and by-elections between now and 2027.
The former Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) stated that as a founding member of APC, he had fond memories of working with other compatriots to negotiate the merger of political parties, which created APC.
He said it had been his hope since 2013 that his personal values and that of APC would continue to align up to the time he chose to retire from politics.
El-Rufai said on his part, he had raised concerns in private and, more recently, in public regarding the capricious trajectory of the party.
He stated, “Therefore, 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.
“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 recognise 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 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.”
El-Rufai stressed that his eight-year tenure in Kaduna State was devoted to implementing progressive policies to advance human development in education and healthcare, as well as expand infrastructure, promote equality of opportunity, create jobs and attract investments.
He added, “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.
“Today, 10th March 2025, I have submitted a letter resigning my membership of the APC to my ward in Kaduna, effective immediately.”
El-Rufai explained that prior to his decision to leave the governing party, he had concluded consultations with his mentors, colleagues and loyalists across the country on the future.
He said, “I have now decided to join the Social Democratic Party (SDP), and adopt it as the platform for our future political engagements and activities.
“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.
“I, therefore, call on all our supporters and other persons concerned about our country’s future to join us in the SDP in the journey towards making Nigeria flourish as a beacon of pride for Africans and the Black Race.”
Kaduna APC Won’t Lose Sleep over El-Rufai, Says Baba-Pate
Kaduna State chapter of APC said it would not lose sleep over El-Rufai’s defection to SDP.
Reacting to the defection in an interview with journalists in Kaduna, APC state secretary, Yahaya Baba-Pate, said the party was unperturbed by the defection of the former governor.
Baba-Pate said APC was focused on delivering the state to President Bola Tinubu and Governor Uba Sani in 2027.
He expressed confidence in the party’s growing strength in the state, stating that high-profile politicians in the state are joining APC daily.
Baba-Pate stated, “We are unperturbed by former Governor Nasir El-Rufai’s defection to another party. Our main focus in Kaduna is on how to deliver the state to both President Ahmed Bola Tinubu and Governor Uba Sani in 2027.
“The APC in Kaduna State is growing day by day, judging from the calibre of politicians streaming into the party on a daily basis.
“So, we are not disturbed by anybody defecting to another party based on our governor’s inclusive governance in the state.
“We are not disturbed and we are not going to lose our sleep over El-Rufai’s moves. The party in the state is growing more than before.”
Lukman: El-Rufai Should’ve Let Us Leave APC as One Based on Ongoing Negotiations
Former National Vice Chairman, North-west of APC, Dr. Salihu Lukman, said Mallam Nasir El-Rufai should have waited for them to join SDP as a group based on ongoing negotiation.
Lukman spoke yesterday while reacting to the defection of El-Rufai to SDP.
He said, “I am close to Mallam El-Rufai to the extent that we come from the same state and were in the same party. And I had the privilege of being nominated by him to serve in the National Working Committee of APC.
“Of course, as everybody knows, we have our own disagreements. But one of the clear cases is the fact that the issue of whether Mallam is going to remain in APC or not is a foretold story.”
Lukman stated that El-Rufai’s defection was expected after the interview he granted ARISE TV.
He said, “You can see the handwriting. But whether it is going to come so soon is what even I couldn’t have said. My expectation was that he should have been a bit patient for us to walk out as a group based on the current negotiation that is ongoing.
“But he knows better and I do hope his decision is not going to become like a kind of break away from whatever we are doing. My hope is that at the end, we should be able to reconcile and work together under one platform.”
Lukman stressed that discussions about joining SDP had been ongoing for a while. He said the question was whether SDP would submit itself to some conditions they believed were necessary.
“I think the discussion about whether SDP will be there or not has been an ongoing thing. The challenge is a question of whether SDP will submit itself to some of the conditions that we believe are necessary,” he said.
Asked about the conditions, Lukman said, “Frankly speaking, unlike most conventional politicians, most conventional politicians who just want a platform where they will present candidates and use it to win elections, there are a few of us who believe the issue is beyond that.
“What Nigerians need is a platform that will promote political competition in the country. If you remember, the problem Nigerians had with PDP is the problem of imposition of candidates. And when the APC came and promised ‘change’, the expectation of Nigerians is that we will change the culture of imposition.
“Unfortunately, we have failed in that. In fact, it has become worse. If things continue as they are, you can predict that President Asiwaju will become the candidate of APC, and you can predict all the first-time governors of APC will emerge as the candidates of APC, whether they are popular in their states or not.
“You can also predict all legislators at federal and state levels, whether they have performed or not. So long as they are in the good books of Asiwaju and the party leadership, they will be returned.”
