Nasir El-Rufai, the immediate past governor of Kaduna, has fueled speculations that he dumped the recently adopted coalition political platform, African Democratic Congress (ADC), as he called on the people of Chikun/Kajuru federal constituency and Zaria Kewaye and Basawa state constituency to vote for the Social Democratic Party (SDP).
El-Rufai recently joined other opposition leaders, including former vice president Atiku Abubakar, Labour Party 2023 presidential candidate Peter Obi, and former governor of Rivers, Rotimi Amaechi, in adopting the ADC as their political platform ahead of the 2027 election.
Where the election will hold in Kaduna
However, in a dramatic turn, the former governor urged the people of Zaria and Chikun to vote for the SDP in the Saturday, August 16, by-election, a poll which was meant to test the opposition’s strength ahead of the 2027 general election.
Recall that El-Rufai defected to the SDP after dumping the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), but soon after joining the party, the SDP fell into a leadership crisis, and the former governor has been silent on his membership and allegations against him.
El-Rufai recently visited Sokoto on a mission to gather support for the ADC. He described his action as a patriotic one to rescue Nigeria from the grip of ‘nepotism’ and ‘incompetence’.