FLASHBACK: El-Rufai Once Vowed to ‘Remain in APC Till I Die’
Apart from vowing to never leave the All Progressives Congress (APC) in 2022, Nasir El-Rufai, the former Kaduna State governor, swore that the day he leaves APC would also mark the day he quits politics altogether.
Three years down the line, however, the founding member of the ruling party announced his defection to the Social Democratic Party (SDP).
El-Rufai said the major reason for his exit from the APC was because of a growing misalignment between his personal values and the direction of the APC.
“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.” El-Rufai posted on Facebook.
El-Rufai emerged as a surprise critic of the Bola Tinubu administration in recent months.
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For instance, he said in February that although some of Tinubu’s economic reforms were the right orthodox policies and he supported them, the order of implementing them was wrong. He also said that the people leading the reforms were unqualified.
“And I think that some of the reforms are just wrong” El-Rufai added.
When El-Rufai was making his now-broken lifelong vow to the APC, he was responding to different speculations of a potential exit from the party because he was dissatisfied with not being picked as a running mate to Bola Tinubu before the 2023 presidential elections.
“They said I wanted to be president, then they came round to say I wanted to be running mate, now it is DG Campaign,” he said to dismiss the speculations.
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Not only has El-Rufai broken his promise not to ever leave the APC, he has also defaulted on his oath not to have a political life outside the party. This is because, apart from leaving his former party, he has also invited other opposition members to join him in his newfound path to unseat the APC in 2027.
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Why El-Rufai Dumps APC, Joins SDP
“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 unite under a single democratic platform to challenge the APC in all elections and by-elections between now and 2027, by the Grace of God,” he said.
—FIJ
