By Zailani Mustapha Former Kaduna State Governor and founding member of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Nasir Ahmad El-Ruf...
By Zailani Mustapha
Former Kaduna State Governor and founding member of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Nasir Ahmad El-Rufai, has officially resigned from the ruling party, citing a fundamental disconnect between its current leadership and the ideals on which it was founded.
In a statement released on Monday, March 10, 2025, El-Rufai declared that his decision was prompted by the APC’s failure to address what he described as an “unhealthy situation” within the party.
“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,” he stated.
El-Rufai, who played a key role in APC’s formation and electoral successes in 2015, 2019, and 2023, lamented the party’s shift from its founding principles. He asserted that the party has “castrated its organs and treated its membership with contempt in the last two years,” making it impossible for him to remain.
“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,” he said.
In his resignation letter submitted to his ward in Kaduna, El-Rufai announced his immediate departure from the APC and his decision to join the Social Democratic Party (SDP). He pledged to use the SDP as a platform for his political engagements while working to unite the opposition ahead of future elections.
“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,” he declared.
El-Rufai’s defection marks a significant political shift and could reshape opposition strategies leading up to the 2027 elections. His call for a consolidated opposition effort against the APC signals a potential realignment in Nigeria’s political landscape.
He ended his statement with a call to action: “I therefore 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.”
With his move to the SDP, El-Rufai now positions himself at the center of a growing opposition movement, setting the stage for intensified political battles in the coming years.
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