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El-Rufai dumps APC, urges opposition parties to reunite under SDP for 2027 elections

March 11, 2025

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El-Rufai dumps APC, urges opposition parties to reunite under SDP for 2027 elections

Former Kaduna State Governor Nasir Ahmad El-Rufai has adviced opposition members, including the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Labour Party, and others, to join the Social Democratic Party (SDP) in order to unseat the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in the 2027 elections.

El-Rufai made this call after announcing his resignation from the APC.

El-Rufai made his decision public in a statement signed by him on Monday, March 10, 2025, while announcing his resignation from the APC.

In the statement, he revealed his intention to focus on engaging with and persuading other opposition leaders and parties to join the SDP.

“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 unite under a single 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 concerned Nigerians to join us in the SDP as we work towards making Nigeria a beacon of pride for Africans and the Black Race.” He said

El-Rufai highlighted his consistent contributions to the APC but expressed disappointment with the party’s current direction.

“Founders naturally feel attached to institutions they helped build, but pragmatism demands recognition when differences become irreconcilable. I have diligently served the APC and contributed to its growth, but the party has since deviated, leaving me stuck in the vision of its well-meaning founders.

He further stated that during his tenure, he worked to secure the APC’s victories in 2015, 2019, and 2023. However, El-Rufai stated that, in the last two years, the APC has sidelined its structures and treated its members with contempt.

“As a loyal party member, I worked to secure the APC’s victories in 2015, 2019, and 2023. My tenure as governor of Kaduna State focused on progressive policies in education, healthcare, infrastructure, job creation, and investment promotion. However, in the last two years, the APC has sidelined its structures and treated its members with contempt. This is no longer acceptable.”

El-Rufai confirmed his official resignation from the APC, effective immediately, after consulting his mentors, colleagues, and loyalists across Nigeria.

“Today, March 10, 2025, I submitted my resignation letter to my ward in Kaduna. Moving forward, I have decided to adopt the SDP as my platform for political engagement and activities.”

His rift with the APC began in January, when El-Rufai met with Hamza Al-Mustapha, ex-aide to late Sani Abacha; Shehu Gabam, national chairman of the SDP; and other politicians in the nation’s capital. Segun Sowunmi, a former spokesperson of the Atiku Abubakar campaign organisation, said the meeting was to strategise ahead of the 2027 elections.

In February, El-Rufai said the distance between himself and the All Progressives Congress (APC) had “widened”. He also slammed the party for not holding meetings regularly, adding that the leadership is running the APC like a “one-man show”. El-Rufai has been critical of President Bola Tinubu’s administration since the senate declined to confirm him as a minister.

El-Rufai has stated that Nigerians should debunk the narrative that the national assembly rejected him as a ministerial nominee.

“The president publicly appealed to me to put my plans on hold, and through two months of negotiation, we finally agreed that he would nominate me as minister,” he said. “Please don’t believe the story that the national assembly rejected me. The president did not want me in his cabinet. He changed his mind.”

El-Rufai served as governor of Kaduna from 2015 to 2023.