The immediate-past Governor of Kaduna State, Nasir el-Rufa’i, has resigned from the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and joined the Social Democratic Party (SDP).
In a statement released on Monday, El-Rufai expressed his dissatisfaction with the leadership of the APC, accusing it of deviating from the progressive values upheld by its founding members.
He revealed that over the past two years, he had raised concerns both privately and publicly about the direction of the party, but the current leadership showed no interest in addressing these issues.
El-Rufai stated, “In the last two years, the current leadership of the APC has failed to acknowledge, let alone resolve, the unhealthy state of the party.”
He continued, “At this point in my political journey, I have decided to seek a new political platform to pursue the progressive values that I hold dear.”
Reflecting on his tenure as Governor of Kaduna State, El-Rufai said, “My eight years in office were dedicated to implementing progressive policies for human development.
However, these achievements are now largely disregarded within the current APC, which has weakened its structures and shown disdain for its members over the past two years. This is no longer acceptable to me.”
El-Rufai confirmed that he had submitted his resignation letter to his ward in Kaduna North Local Government Area.
He described the SDP as the platform for his future political endeavors and urged his supporters, as well as other concerned Nigerians, to join him in the SDP, stressing the need for a united democratic platform to challenge the APC in future elections.
His defection followed discussions with prominent political figures, including former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, former vice presidential candidate Tunde Bakare, and former President Muhammadu Buhari, among others.
The move also came after a series of disputes with the presidency. El-Rufai notably missed the APC national caucus and National Executive Committee (NEC) meetings last month.
