‘I’ll leave APC if it abandons progressive values’ – says El-Rufai

By Kunle Sanni

Former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, has dismissed rumors of his defection to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), stating categorically that he has no intention of joining the opposition.

Speaking in an interview on Arise TV on Monday night, El-Rufai described speculation about his political future as baseless.

He clarified that his meetings with politicians from other parties had been misinterpreted and did not indicate any plan to leave the All Progressives Congress (APC).

“It should be clear that being in the APC doesn’t mean I can’t visit a friend in the PDP or SDP,” El-Rufai said. “Anytime I meet someone outside APC, people assume I’m planning to leave the party.”

He dismissed claims that he had obtained a PDP membership card in his ward, calling such allegations “completely false.”

Addressing speculation about his visit to Shehu Gabam, the National Chairman of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), El-Rufai said, “When I visited my brother and friend at the SDP headquarters, they said, ‘Oh, he has joined the SDP.’ Again, not true.”

However, El-Rufai left open the possibility of leaving the APC if the party strays too far from its founding ideals.

“I don’t know where I will end up if the APC doesn’t return to where we started,” he said. “But one thing I can tell you for sure is that PDP is not an option for me. I ruled that out long ago, and nothing has changed. If anything, the PDP has gotten worse—rule out PDP.”