By Daniel Tyokua
Former governor of Kaduna state, Nasir el-Rufai has dumped the All Progressives Congress (APC) for the Social Democratic Party (SDP).
This followed the resignation of his membership from APC as contained in a letter he submitted to his ward in Kaduna on Monday.
There have been speculation months ago 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 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.”
