By Abdullahi Yusuf
Ever since Malam Nasiru El-Rufa’i exited from the All Progressives Congress(APC) and subsequently defected to the Social Democratic party(SDP), tongues have been wagging as to the real reason he would leave the party he co-founded and join another.
Despite the explanations the two-time Governor of Kaduna State offered at the time of his defection, Nigerians have continued to suggest other motives for the movement.
Such claims include that El-Rufa’i left the APC for the SDP because he was “schemed out of things” in the ruling party, and that he quit the APC in order to join hands with like minds to defeat President Tinubu in the 2027 general elections.
While the speculations persisted, an opportunity came when El-Rufa’i would further explain the real reasons he defected from the APC to the SDP.
That chance availed itself when he visited Kano on Monday, April 28,2025.The former Governor of Kaduna State, told newsmen that he was in Kano to visit the Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II, and to meet with SDP leaders to strategize on building a strong grassroots political movement in the state.
Contrary to other claims, El-Rufa’i explained that he defected to the Social Democratic Party (SDP) because of the need
to build a platform free from “godfatherism and internal dysfunction.” These anomalies,he said, destroyed the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
He said Nigeria urgently needs a credible political alternative to rescue it from “Existential threats.’
He said he left the APC because the political realities in Nigeria had changed.
“Twelve years ago, we merged three major parties to form the APC and defeated an incumbent president. But now, the goal is different.
“We are bringing together disaffected members across political divides under an existing platform, the SDP,which we believe has the best pedigree and potential,” the SDP bigwig said.
According to him,the SDP offers a fresh opportunity, being a platform not controlled by any individual.
“We have seen how godfatherism destroyed the PDP and is now wrecking the APC. Nigerians deserve a party built on fairness, internal democracy, and equal opportunity. The SDP can be that alternative,” he said.
He he rejected the suggestion that he left the APC out of frustration, having been politically sidelined, explaining that he has no personal ambition left to pursue.
“I am 65 years old. I have served Nigeria at the highest levels – minister, governor,and I could simply retire. But I believe Nigeria is facing an existential crisis. This is about the country’s survival, not personal gain,” El-Rufa’i said.
The former Minister of the FCT also explained that one of the reasons he joined the SDP is “because we have undertaken a detailed evaluation of the nine or 10 political parties that will qualify to exist after INEC does its review of political parties.”
“As you know, the amendment of the Constitution and the Electoral Act now empowers INEC to deregister any political party that does not have a member of the State House of Assembly.
“To qualify to continue to exist as a political party, you must have got a member of the State House of Assembly elected. So, there are about nine or 10 political parties that, based on this, would soon be deregistered.
“So, we looked at the ones that cannot be deregistered and evaluated them using very objective criteria. And we came to the conclusion that the SDP was the best of them. It was top-ranked.
“And it is a party with pedigree. But, of course, it needs to be built. Party formation is easy.
“You can get the INEC certificate, but then you have to work hard to register members and do congresses and have leadership structures from the polling unit to local government to state and national. That is the process of party building. It’s a difficult work.It takes time. It takes resources. It takes energy and logistics,” he said.
El-Rufa’i further noted that he strongly believes that the SDP provides the potential to recreate a major political party, adding that Nigerians need “a credible alternative.”
He said that he used the phrase “credible alternative very, very carefully” because PDP had run the country for 16 years and Nigerians knew what happened during the period.
He said the APC has run the country for 10 years now, and that most people want something different, a new brand of politics, a new style of governance and new faces.
The former Governor of Kaduna State said he believes the SDP can be the party that gives that alternative to Nigerians, “a party that is not controlled by anyone, that is not pocketed by anyone, a party that will provide a level playing field to any person who wants to aspire for leadership, either in the party or in the government.”
“And I want to make it very clear, right from the beginning of this journey that our conception was not to have PDP, merge with PDP or anything.
“PDP as a party is a spent force. It has been targeted for destruction and it has almost succeeded. The APC has been pocketed.
“So, we are not looking at that. We are not looking at political parties that crisis have already ravaged. We are looking for something new, something fresh that we can offer to Nigerians as a credible alternative.
“And when they look at the faces that are there, they will say, yeah, maybe there is a chance that this will be different. That is all. And that is going on, ” he said.
The former FCT minister then dismissed the defection of a PDP governor to the ruling APC, saying the SDP is not worried about the development.
“The fact that one governor from PDP has defected and so on, it’s nothing. We are not looking at governors. We are trying to offer Nigerians and Nigerian voters an alternative.
“A governor has only one vote. Nigerians have many more votes than one governor or 36 governors. It doesn’t matter if you collect 36 governors, if the people of Nigeria say we are not with you, it’s over.
“The president had a sitting governor and he lost Lagos. So what is the value of a governor? I was the governor of Kaduna state. I fought hard to deliver to the president my state, but I lost.
“Governors don’t determine election results. The people do. This is what many Nigerians forget.
“And we want the SDP to remind them of that. So that’s our story. I am the first to join with some members of my group, but there are other groups and we are still talking.And I believe that they are on their way. It is not over until it is over, ” El-Rufa’i added.
Indeed, it is not over, until it is really over. The SDP bigwig appears to be done with these explanations about his recent defection to the SDP from his former party, the APC.
It is only hoped that Nigerians would accept the explanations once and for all, and focus on other issues happening in the SDP, including its nationwide drive for new members.