We Are Not Planning A Merger With PDP – El-Rufai Speaks On Alleged Coalition To Unseat Tinubu

The immediate past Governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai, has addressed the controversies surrounding an alleged planned coalition with the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) ahead of the 2027 general elections.

Naijaonpoint reports that El-Rufai, who recently defected from the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) to the Social Democratic Party (SDP), spoke during a media chat with journalists in Kano on Monday, clarifying that the intention from a series of meetings with political stakeholders was never to merge with the PDP.

El-Rufai’s clarification comes against the backdrop of the PDP Governors’ Forum rejecting any coalition or merger to unseat the incumbent administration led by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in the coming 2027 elections.

According to him, the coalition’s strategy is focused on mobilising voters directly, not courting political officeholders.

“From the beginning, our intention was never to merge with the PDP. We have been very clear about that.

“The PDP is a spent force. It is a party targeted for destruction, and, frankly, it has almost succeeded,” the former Kaduna State Governor said.

El-Rufai stressed that the coalition seeks to present Nigerians with a genuine alternative, not a rebranded version of parties already associated with crises and failure.

“We are not looking at political parties that are already ravaged by internal conflicts. We are building something fresh, something that will inspire hope.

“When Nigerians look at the faces involved, they will hopefully say: ‘Yes, maybe this time it will be different.’ That is the goal, and it is ongoing,” he added.

El-Rufai further disclosed that efforts are underway to unify various opposition groups under the Social Democratic Party (SDP).

“Our objective is not to merge political parties. We have been through that before, and we know how long and complicated that process is.

“What we are trying to do is bring like-minded people, who believe Nigeria needs real change, under one umbrella,” he said.

He explained that the SDP was chosen after a detailed evaluation of political parties likely to survive ...-election deregistration process by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

“As you know, INEC now has the power to deregister parties without any elected member at the state Assembly level,” he explained.

“We assessed the ones that cannot be deregistered, and concluded that the SDP ranked highest. It has pedigree, it has history — but it still needs building.”

El-Rufai stressed that building a party is far more complicated than merely registering one:

“Forming a party is easy. Building a party — registering members, holding congresses, building leadership from the polling unit to the national level — is the real work,” he further stated.

He emphasised that the new movement would prioritise internal democracy:

“What destroyed previous parties in Nigeria is a lack of internal democracy and the stranglehold of godfathers. We want to eliminate that. The APC started with hope, but it became controlled by one or two people. We want a party that no one owns, where everyone has a voice,” he said.