Former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, has dismissed the idea of a possible future merger, and has urged former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, ex-Labour Party presidential candidate Peter Obi, and others to join the Social Democratic Party (SDP).

This was following his resignation from the All Progressives Congress (APC) on March 10, citing a misalignment of values with the ruling party.

In a recent interview with BBC Hausa, El-Rufai pleaded with the politicians to join SDP to defeat President Bola Tinubu in 2027.

The Presidency on Friday, had said that the 2027 general election was not Tinubu’s current focus, but how to improve the economic conditions of every Nigerian.

Tinubu’s Special Adviser on Media and Public Communications, Sunday in a statement on X on Friday, said “President Tinubu is not worried about the next election. He’s worried about the shared prosperity that he can bring to Nigerians.

“He’s worried about how the reforms he has put in place will yield necessary impact. He is concerned about what happens to the economy of this country eventually. That’s the focus. “We’ve seen our foreign reserves go up. We’ve seen inflation come down. We’ve seen our trade surplus go up.

“We’ve seen exports go up and imports drop.

“We’ve seen the investments that have been attracted -over 50 billion. We are seeing prices dropping.

“We have clear data and you have a President that is clearly in the driver’s seat, and he has stayed the course of the decisions he has taken.

“And I think that the next election is not really in his view right now.

“It’s how to make sure that at the end of his first term, he can sit back and say, look, “I have impacted the lives of Nigerians. I have turned this economy around”.

However, El-Rufai during the interview with the BBC, called on the trio of Obi, Abubakar and Aregbesola to form a political alliance with him towards the 2027 elections.

“My wishes and prayers are Atiku Abubakar, Peter Obi, Rotimi Amaechi, Rauf, all opposition leaders to come and join SDP, not to do a merger or to register a new political party,” he said.

“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,” he said.

“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 clarified that his presidential political ambition in 2027, would depend on the party and the will of the people.

“It is not for me to decide; it is the party and the people that will decide. Even when I was contesting for governor, it was people that met and convinced (Muhammadu) Buhari, and he called me and asked me to contest,” he said.

The Presidency has clarified that President Bola Tinubu is currently focused on positively impacting the lives of Nigerians and not the next general elections.

Tinubu’s Special Adviser on Media and Public Communications, Sunday Dare who made the clarification in a statement on X on Friday, said the president’s achievement would at the end of his tenure, be how he has been able to bring development to the economy.

Dare’s statement comes amid growing political tension and economic hardship in the country.

Efforts to form a coalition that could challenge Tinubu in 2027 are on top gear, as former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai, decamped from the All Progressives Congress (APC) to the Social Democratic Party (SDP).

The statement read “President Tinubu is not worried about the next election. He’s worried about the shared prosperity that he can bring to Nigerians.

“He’s worried about how the reforms he has put in place will yield necessary impact. He is concerned about what happens to the economy of this country eventually. That’s the focus. “We’ve seen our foreign reserves go up. We’ve seen inflation come down. We’ve seen our trade surplus go up.

“We’ve seen exports go up and imports drop.

“We’ve seen the investments that have been attracted -over 50 billion. We are seeing prices dropping.

“We have clear data and you have a President that is clearly in the driver’s seat, and he has stayed the course of the decisions he has taken.


“And I think that the next election is not really in his view right now.

“It’s how to make sure that at the end of his first term, he can sit back and say, look, “I have impacted the lives of Nigerians. I have turned this economy around”.

Amid hardship rocking the country, Tinubu has assured Nigerians of hope, reiterating his commitment to running a government that listens to the needs of Nigerians.

While receiving the Catholic Bishop’s Conference of Nigeria (CBCN) on Friday, he told the bishops that he made a tough decision upon assuming office in 2023 by removing subsidies on petroleum products.

He stressed the competition among operators in the petroleum sector, the bountiful harvest enjoyed by farmers, and the lower prices of commodities, adding that investments are flowing into the country.

“Yes, removing the fuel subsidy was hard, tough for me, but it’s a hard choice that Nigeria must face. We are not going to bankrupt our country,” the President was quoted in a statement by his spokesman, Bayo Onanuga.

By Augustine Akhilomen

…Says SDP Will Produce The Next President

Former presidential candidate of the Social Democratic Party, SDP, Adewole Adebayo, has declared that President Bola Tinubu will be defeated in the 2027 general elections.

He made the assertion on Friday during an interview on Arise TV Morning Show programme, where he also described the defection of former Kaduna State governor, Nasri El-Rufai from the All Progressives Congress (APC) to the Social Democratic Party.

Adebayo also claimed that his party SDP will produce the next Nigerian President.

He said: “The reason why I welcome El-Rufai to my party is that I see him as a patriotic Nigerian, hard working, very effective in an area where we don’t have effective people in government, that’s all.

“Tinubu is going to be removed from power, that one is sure, and there will be an SDP president.

As a coalition and all of that, it is not inside our party. Maybe it’s people that are having discussion outside, and after having their discussion, they feel that they can come to the SDP and try to work within the SDP. But in SDP, we are following our program as before.

“We knew that when they were ganging up and going to Chatham House they will not last. We knew that when they started sharing the spoil of office, they will be scattered. We knew that the programs that all of them had will not work for the people out there, they will lose popularity.

“So we started preparing our party. We have no crisis and started managing our party. When they were offering position we didn’t want to join them. We remained where we are, keep talking to the people. Many more will join us as the year goes by”.