Former Kaduna State Governor and founding member of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Nasir Ahmad El-Rufai, has officially resigned from the ruling party and joined the Social Democratic Party (SDP).
In a statement released on Monday, El-Rufai expressed his disappointment with the current state of the APC, citing a lack of alignment with the progressive values he championed during the party’s formation in 2013.
He lamented that the party had strayed from the vision of its founding members and failed to address internal issues, leading to what he described as an “unbridgeable divergence.”
“Developments in the last two years confirm that there is no desire on the part of those who currently control and run the APC to acknowledge, much less address, the unhealthy situation of the party,” El-Rufai stated. He added that his concerns, raised both privately and publicly, had been ignored, leaving him with no choice but to seek a new political platform.
El-Rufai, a key figure in the APC’s rise to power, played a pivotal role in securing the party’s victories in the 2015, 2019, and 2023 presidential elections.
However, he noted that these achievements now “count for little” in the current APC, which he accused of sidelining its members and undermining its democratic structures.
The former governor revealed that he had submitted his resignation letter to his ward in Kaduna State, effective immediately. He also announced his decision to join the SDP, describing it as the new platform for his political engagements.
El-Rufai called on his supporters and like-minded Nigerians to join him in the SDP, emphasizing the need for a unified opposition to challenge the APC in the 2027 elections.
“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 declared.
Political analysts have described El-Rufai’s defection as a bold statement against the current leadership of the APC.
El-Rufai concluded his statement with a call for unity and progress, urging Nigerians to work together to build a prosperous nation. “I 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,” he said.
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