*Kaduna APC: We’re Not Disturbed
* Now Is Time For Good Politics- Adebayo
THE Presidency has said that the defection the immediate-past governor of Kaduna State, Mallam Nasir el-Rufai, from the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) to the Social Democratic Party (SDP), on Monday, March 10, was driven by personal ambition rather than political ideology, as he stated.
Special Adviser to the President on Policy Communications, Mr. Daniel Bwala, said while el-Rufai has the constitutional right to switch parties, his motives will be scrutinised.
Reacting on his X handle, @DanielBwala, in reaction to the development, the presidential aide argued that el-Rufai’s political relevance was not as sudden or significant as some might suggest, adding that the coming days would see further examination of his decision.
Bwala criticised el-Rufai’s association with opposition forces, saying working with those seeking to unseat the current administration does not constitute a political ideology or progressivism, but rather a reflection of personal ambition, which he said would ultimately fail.
He wrote: “Senior, @elrufai, I read 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 phenomenal that emerge 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.”
Also, the APC in Kaduna State said it was not worried by el-Rufai’s exit from the party, describing it as political gyration.
Speaking to journalists on Monday, the state APC Secretary, Yahaya Baba-Pate, said the party remained focused on securing the state for President Bola Tinubu and Governor Uba Sani in 2027, expressing confidence in the party’s growing strength in the state due to the influx of prominent politicians.
He assured APC members that el-Rufai’s departure would not impact the party’s prospects, saying: “We are unperturbed by el-Rufai’s defection to another party. Our main focus in Kaduna is on how to deliver the state to both President 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 daily.
“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.”
Recall that the immediate-past governor resigned from the ruling APC and joined to the SDP on Monday, March 10, expressing his disappointment with the party’s leadership style in a statement he issued on Monday, March 10, accusing it of straying from the progressive ideals of its founding members.
According to him: “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. I have now decided to join the Social Democratic Party (SDP).”
He said he had earlier expressed concerns, privately and publicly, over the party’s trajectory in the past two years, but found no willingness among the current leadership to address the issues.
“Developments in the last two years on the part of those who currently control and run the APC to acknowledge, much less address, the unhealthy situation of the state.
“My eight-year tenure in Kaduna State was devoted to implementing progressive policies to advance human development. 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.”
He added: “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.
“Since 2013, I have hoped that my personal values and those of the APC will continue to align until I choose to retire from politics.
“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.
“As a loyal party man, I worked to help secure the APC’s 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,
“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.”
He charged his supporters and other Nigerians to join his new party in an attempt to bring back Nigeria as a beacon of pride for Africans and the black race.
El-Rufai said he had submitted his resignation letter to his ward in Kaduna North Local Council, describing the SDP as the platform for his future political engagements, even as he called on his supporters and other concerned Nigerians to join him in the new party to challenge the APC in future elections.
His defection has been long coming, following his meetings with former vice president, Atiku Abubakar, a former vice presidential candidate of the defunct Congress for Progressive Change (CP), Pastor Tunde Bakare, and former President Muhammadu Buhari, former minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola, among others, as well as his confrontations with the Presidency, especially given his absence at the APC national caucus and National Executive Committee (NEC) meetings.
While Adebayo welcomes el-Rufai to SDP, the party’s presidential candidate in the last election, Prince Adewole Adebayo, in a post on his official X handle, @Pres_Adebayo, said it was time to liberate Nigerians from the insecurity prevailing in the country.
Adebayo stated that with an avid worker like the former minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) joining the party, the time has come to liberate Nigerians from the shackles of poverty and insecurity.
He wrote: “On behalf of the teeming members of the SDP and patriotic democrats, who believe in Nigeria and her promise of inevitable greatness, I heartily welcome my dear brother, el-Rufai, to our party.
“With the hardworking and sagacious mallam joining our ranks, an avid worker for the people has been enlisted in our forces against poverty and insecurity.
“Now is the time for us to put our collective shoulders behind the efforts to fulfil Chapter 2 of the Constitution and rescue Nigerians from bad governance and underdevelopment to restore #HopeAgain 2027 to the suffering masses.”
