Former Kaduna State Governor, Malam Nasiru El-Rufai, has disclosed that he sought the approval of former President Muhammadu Buhari before deciding to leave the All Progressives Congress (APC) and join the Social Democratic Party (SDP).
In an exclusive interview with the BBC Hausa Service on Thursday, March 13, El-Rufai explained that he has always relied on Buhari’s counsel for major political decisions, stressing that he never takes any significant steps without first consulting the former president.
El-Rufai also refuted claims that his defection was driven by disappointment over not being appointed as a minister. He clarified that his decision had nothing to do with personal grievances over ministerial appointments.
Additionally, El-Rufai made controversial claims regarding the ministerial selection process, alleging that certain individuals within President Bola Tinubu’s cabinet had paid significant sums of money in exchange for ministerial consideration
He said: “The APC has derailed, the party is no longer abiding by its founding principles. Everyone is working for himself, looking for money. The government is commercialised, everything has a price tag.
“Justice has been kept at bay, those who worked for the party were ignored instead of being compensated. If there is any position or appointment, they give it to a Lagos boy, etc.
“That is why we’ve been speaking, we spoke, we said this is not the party we know. The party is dead. I said the only option is for me to meet Pastor Tunde Bakare, because he dragged me into APC. He took me to Buhari. I did not join the APC because of Buhari, it was Pastor Bakare, who dragged me to APC and courtesy demands I should let him know.
“Buhari too, I told him I was leaving the party, I sought his blessings and prayers. He said he has given me his blessings and prayers. We are the ones in politics, he (Buhari) is now father of the land and has been praying for us, so what remains?
“I’ve publicly denounced my membership of the party, they can go and hold on to the party, they can eat the party alone like food, we’ve given up.”
Read Also: I consulted Buhari before leaving APC – El-Rufai
When asked if he left the party to avoid being expelled, El-Rufa’i responded that it would have been far better for him to have been expelled from the APC.
“That would’ve been much easier for me, but look at it, as I kept on saying, I did not leave the party, it’s the party that dumped me. Why did it left me? First of all, I was marginalized, not involved in all party activities. Not that I was invited and refused to honour the invite, I was completely sidelined.
“Secondly, what we had planned to implement when we form government, it’s not what’s being implemented,” he alleged.
Addressing the widely circulated claim that his departure from the party was due to not being considered for a ministerial position, El-Rufa’i dismissed it as merely a popular misconception.
“But did I even look for the ministerial position? I know those who even paid money to be appointed as ministers.
“Yes, I was at the screening because the President begged me. It was in the public glare, not the two of us for him to say he had never begged me. It was in Kaduna where he begged me to come and work with him. Even then, I did not agree until when we sat down and he told me what he wanted. That the problem of electricity had refused to allow the country to progress. He said he would like to be the President that would finally resolve the power problem and he begged me to come and help him achieve that. I told him that I would look at the challenge he gave me and would consider working with him. I thought he meant it.”
 and join the Social Democratic Party (SDP).){kind=link}