A former Governor of kaduna state has stated the reason for leaving the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC. He said the party treated him shabbily despite the fact that he played a major role in the party’s ascension to power three consecutive times at the national level.
The former Minister of the FCT made this remark in a statement on Monday, few hours after he announced his departure from the party, thus bringing an end to moths of speculations about his future in the party he played a major role as one of the founding leaders.
The magazine reported that the former governor had for months been at logger heads with his party after he failed to scale the Senate ministerial hurdles in 2023, amid suggestions that he was planning to dump it, his recent comment that he no longer believe in the party had also fueled rumour that his days were already numbered in the APC.
On Monday, El Rufai did not prove critics wrong as he finally joined the Social Democratic Party, SDP. He said he had sent his resignation letter to his ward in Kaduna that he’s no longer a member of the APC. His resignation from APC, he said, is effective today, March 10, 2025.
Citing why he left, the former minister said he was not treated with respect by the party after he played a critical role in the party’s presidential win in 2015, 2029 and 2023, saying he had no choice to seek validation in another party.
He stressed his first task as a member of the opposition is to unite other key leaders in the opposition to wrest power from the APC in 2027
“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 bye-elections between now and 2027, by the Grace of God,” he said.
He added, “I, therefore, call on all our supporters and concerned Nigerians to join us in the SDP as we work towards making Nigeria a beacon of pride for Africans and the Black Race.”
He slammed the APC for the shabby treatment that was meted out to him despite being instrumental to its success in three successive elections, a development that left him disappointed but was no longer ‘acceptable’ to him.
According to him, “Founders naturally feel attached to institutions they helped build, but pragmatism demands recognition when differences become irreconcilable. I have diligently served the APC and contributed to its growth, but the party has since deviated, leaving me stuck in the vision of its well-meaning founders.
“As a loyal party member, I worked to secure the APC’s victories in 2015, 2019, and 2023. My tenure as governor of Kaduna State focused on progressive policies in education, healthcare, infrastructure, job creation, and investment promotion. However, in the last two years, the APC has sidelined its structures and treated its members with contempt. This is no longer acceptable.”
The magazine reported that the former governor met with former vice president Atiku Abubakar and the 2023 presidential candidate of the PDP whose future in the party have also been rumoured not to be certain.
But Abubakar said at the weekend that he remained a member of the PDP dismissing he plan to dump the party.
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