The immediate past governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai, has called for a united opposition among political leaders in the country.
To achieve this, El-Rufai invited the 2023 presidential candidates of the Peoples Democratic Party and Labour Party, Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi, respectively, to the Social Democratic Party.
He also called on the former governor of Osun State, Rauf Aregbesola, and ex-Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, to join the party to form a formidable opposition.
El-Rufai’s call came amid political realignment and formation of a coalition movement ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The former Kaduna governor joined the SDP last Monday, citing a growing misalignment between his personal values and the current direction of the APC as the primary reason for his decision.
Some former ministers of ex-President Muhammadu Buhari would move en masse to the SDP.
Speaking in an interview with BBC Hausa Service, which started trending on Saturday, El-Rufai urged Atiku, Obi, Amaechi, and Aregbesola to join the SDP.
He expressed his disappointment with President Bola Tinubu’s administration, saying, “What pains me is that the government we supported and had confidence in would do well because we saw what Tinubu did in Lagos despite his challenges. We all know about his issues in Chicago, but we thought if he could replicate his work in Lagos for Nigeria, let’s support him. However, he failed.”
El-Rufai reaffirmed his call for unity among opposition figures, saying, “What I want and pray for is for all opposition leaders—Atiku, Obi, Amaechi, and Aregbesola—to join the SDP.”
The former governor refuted claims that he betrayed Atiku.
“I never betrayed Atiku Abubakar because we didn’t meet in politics; we met at work. At work, if I see that he didn’t do well, whoever he is, I will tell him. I told Buhari, and I even took Buhari to court on the new naira issue.
“When Obasanjo and Atiku were having issues, those of us working with Obasanjo looked at the issues between them and said Obasanjo was right.
“It was not about North and South; Obasanjo was right. Atiku and I are now together, and if I betrayed him, why are we together now?”
