‘Our values no longer align’ — el-Rufai leaves APC for SDP

Nasir el-Rufai, former governor of Kaduna state, has resigned his membership of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and has joined the Social Democratic Party (SDP).

The development lays to rest months of speculation regarding el-Rufai’s immediate political plans.

The former minister of the federal capital territory (FCT) had paid visits to political party chieftains, including Atiku Abubakar, on Sunday.

In a statement announcing his decision, el-Rufai said the APC left him with little choice.

“As a founding member of the All Progressives Congress (APC), I have fond memories of working with other compatriots to negotiate the merger of political parties that created the APC. It had been my hope since 2013 that my personal values and that of the APC will continue to align up to the time I choose to retire from politics,” the statement reads.

“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.

“On my part, I have raised concerns in private and, more recently, in public regarding the capricious trajectory of the party. 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 recognize that the party has since strayed and left me stuck in the vision of its well-meaning founding fathers and mothers.”

El-Rufai asked his supporters “and other persons concerned about our country’s future” to join him in the SDP.

“Today, 10th March 2025, I have submitted a letter resigning my membership of the APC to my ward in Kaduna, effective immediately,” he added.

“Prior to this step, I had concluded consultations with my mentors, colleagues and loyalists across the country about the future. I have now decided to join the Social Democratic Party (SDP), and adopt it as the platform for our future political engagements and activities.”

MINISTERIAL SCREENING HURDLE

In January, 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 criticised 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 minister. 

In February, el-Rufai said Nigerians should not believe the narrative that the national assembly rejected him as a ministerial nominee, noting that Tinubu did not want him in his cabinet.

“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 was governor of Kaduna from 2015 to 2023.