A week after Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, former governor of Kaduna State, announced his resignation from the All Progressives Congress (APC) and subsequent defection to the Social Democratic Party (SDP), the ruling party has issued an official response.
In a statement released by Barrister Felix Morka, the APC’s National Publicity Secretary, the party rejected El-Rufai’s claims that it had lost its vision and departed from the progressive ideals of its founders.
Morka implied that El-Rufai’s decision to leave the party stemmed from personal frustration after failing to secure a ministerial appointment in President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s cabinet.
The statement reads: “In his frenzied attempt to justify his rather implausible exit from the All Progressives Party (APC), Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, former Governor of Kaduna State, in an interview with BBC Hausa, opined that APC has deviated from the progressive ideals of its founders, and turned into a party where ‘everyone is now pursuing personal interests.…’”
“In a once viral video, El-Rufai did not hold back when he deprecated politicians he argued were consumed by pursuit of self-interest. In his words, ‘we have politics of private interest. We have no politics of public interest. Politicians will proudly tell you that politics is about interest. If they don’t get what they want, they are ready to collapse the system.’”
“Today, El-Rufai stands diminished as the epitome of a self-interested politician, blinded by ego, driven by untamed emotion, and brimming with a vengeful desire to ‘collapse the system.’”
“In his BBC interview under reference, El-Rufai supplied the real reason for his soreness, stating that he was disappointed by the way he was treated by President Bola Tinubu and his administration, in ostensible reference to his failed ministerial bid. His claim that he exited because the Party had deviated from its founding values or progressive ideology is a smokescreen to weaponize personal grievance garbed as principled dissent. El-Rufai appears traumatised by his failure to land a ministerial position. Nursing a bruised ego, he now lashes out at the platform on which he rode to political prominence.
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“APC’s commitment to its founding values and ideals remains as valid and progressive today as they were then. El-Rufai’s allegation of a drift from our Party’s founding values exists only in his foggy imagination.”
“Assuming that matters of political conviction had anything to do with his exit, exactly how is the Social Democratic Party (SDP), El-Rufai’s new political abode, an ideological safe haven?
“El-Rufai’s call for opposition members to join him under the SDP banner is nothing short of an invitation to drink from a chalice poisoned by selfishness, vengefulness, and delusion of grandeur. Nigerians are far more savvy than El-Rufai thinks, and they know that he is driven by raw self-interest rather than a genuine concern for the country.
“Our great Party is unfazed by El-Rufai’s grudge-laden tirade. We continue to welcome millions of new members across the country, who are joining to identify with the Party’s lofty values and support President Tinubu’s bold and transformative policies now birthing sustainable growth and prosperity for our country.
“El-Rufai’s claim that Tinubu has failed is as outrageous as it is bogus, and a gross distortion of the reality on the ground. Across all sectors, Nigerians are witnessing tangible progress in the delivery of the President’s campaign promises. Indisputably, Nigeria is better off today than when he took office.”
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