Former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai has revealed that former President Muhammadu Buhari supported his decision to leave the All Progressives Congress (APC) for the Social Democratic Party (SDP), citing dissatisfaction with how President Bola Tinubu treated him after winning the 2023 election.
Speaking in an interview with BBC Hausa, El-Rufai said, “I met with him (Buhari) on Friday and informed him of my plans to leave the party.
“I sought his blessings and prayers and told him about the new party I intended to join. He gave me his full support and wished me well.”
Prompt News reports that El-Rufai recently resigned from the APC and joined the SDP, citing dissatisfaction with the ruling party’s leadership and direction.
Responding to suggestions that his defection was driven by bitterness over not being appointed a minister, El-Rufai dismissed the claim, saying he did not lobby for a position in Tinubu’s cabinet.
“Tinubu publicly appealed to me in Kaduna to work with him,” he stated. “Even then, I didn’t immediately accept.
We later had a private discussion where he explained that resolving Nigeria’s persistent power supply issues was a key priority for his administration.”
El-Rufai said he agreed to support Tinubu based on the president’s commitment to tackling the power sector crisis.
“I believed he was serious about addressing this challenge,” he said. “That’s why I agreed to consider working with him.”
While he expressed disappointment in Tinubu’s leadership, El-Rufai said he had no regrets backing him during the election.
“I’m not bitter, but I’m disappointed,” Peoples Gazette quoted him as saying in Hausa language.
Meanwhile, presidential spokesperson Daniel Bwala dismissed El-Rufai’s defection, describing it as a failed attempt driven by ambition to unseat President Tinubu.
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