Nasir Ahmad El-Rufai, former governor of Kaduna State, Nigeria, (May 2015 - May 2023) accused the leadership of the APC (All Progressives Congress) of straying from the progressive ideals of its founding members. He disclosed that he had expressed concerns both privately and publicly over the party’s trajectory in the past two years, but found no willingness among the current leadership to address the issues.

“At this point in my political journey, I have come to the conclusion that I must seek another political platform for the pursuit of the progressive values I cherish. I have now decided to join the Social Democratic Party (SDP)” El-Rufai said via his X page (@elrufai).

The former Governor was vocal in his choice of ex-Lagos governor Bola Tinubu as the flag bearer of the APC in the last general elections. Tinubu was later elected Nigeria’s president during the February 2023 presidential poll and as compensation politics has become common practice in Nigeria’s political turf, Tinubu nominated El-Rufai as one of his ministers three months after his inauguration.

However, El-Rufai fell out with the movers and shakers in the current government and was rejected by the Senate during the ministerial screening process. The upper legislative chamber cited security reasons from the Department of State Services as one of the reasons for his rejection. Since the incident in August 2023, El-Rufai has not been seen in any gathering of APC chieftains, around the Aso Villa, or near the president whom he vigorously campaigned for in the last poll.

Conversely, El-Rufai was previously spotted with SDP chieftains fuelling defection rumours, which he initially dismissed before the final revelation on Monday, March 10, 2025. El-Rufai said he submitted his resignation letter to his ward in Kaduna North Local Government Area of the North-West state. He described the SDP as the platform for his future political engagements even as he called on his supporters and other concerned Nigerians to join him in the SDP, emphasising the need for a unified democratic platform to challenge the APC in future elections.