Former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai has had enough of the gossip swirling around his political future. In a fiery sit-down with Arise TV, he shot down rumors of a defection to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) with a blunt, “I will never ever be found dead or alive in the PDP.” But he didn’t stop there—he left the door cracked open for other possibilities if his current party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), doesn’t get its house in order.
El-Rufai’s been making waves lately, meeting with politicians from across Nigeria’s partisan divide—PDP, Social Democratic Party (SDP), you name it. Naturally, the rumor mill kicked into overdrive. “Every time I visit someone outside the APC, people lose their minds,” he said, half-laughing at the absurdity. “About two months ago, some guy in Kaduna even claimed I’d picked up a PDP membership card in my ward. Total nonsense.” He also brushed off talk of jumping to the SDP after popping by their headquarters to see his pal Shehu Gabam. “They said, ‘Oh, he’s joined the SDP.’ Again, not true,” he quipped.
But beneath the dismissals, there’s a sharper edge to his words. El-Rufai didn’t mince them when he hinted at a breaking point with the APC. “I don’t know where I’ll end up if the APC doesn’t come back to where we started,” he said, his tone turning serious. “If it doesn’t return to its founding principles, who knows? But PDP? No chance. I settled that in my head years ago—nothing’s changed. If anything, that party’s only gotten worse.”
The chatter about his next move isn’t baseless. Reports trickled out recently of a sit-down with PDP leaders in Kaduna, which he confirmed but waved off as no big deal. “The state leadership came to see me a couple of days ago,” he said. “I’m a public figure in my state—at my age, with the roles I’ve held, I’m a leader. I’ll meet with them, sure. Doesn’t mean I’m signing up.” He’s adamant that these chats—whether with PDP, SDP, or anyone else—are just part of the job. “It’s my duty to meet with everyone, to guide young folks across party lines. But the second I do, it’s all ‘politics, politics, politics.’”
Still, his frustration with the APC’s internal mess is hard to miss. The party’s been grappling with infighting and drift, and El-Rufai’s not the only one grumbling. His willingness to keep options on the table—minus the PDP—hints at bigger plays as the 2027 elections loom. “Other parties? Possibly, if the APC doesn’t sort itself out,” he admitted, leaving that tantalizing “what if” hanging in the air.
For now, El-Rufai’s sticking to his guns: no PDP, no SDP, just a guy doing his rounds. But his warning to the APC is loud and clear—fix the cracks, or watch key players like him start looking elsewhere. With Nigeria’s political landscape already heating up, his next steps could shake things up more than anyone expects. What’s he really up to? That’s the question everyone’s itching to answer.
