The Chairman of the Social Democratic Party, SDP, Shehu Gabam, has stated that there has been no official communication regarding former Governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai, or allies of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar joining the party.
Gabam’s remark comes after El-Rufai, Segun Sowunmi, and Hamza Al-Mustapha held a strategic meeting to review the state of opposition democratic engagement in Nigeria.
The closed-door meeting was held at the SDP’s Secretariat in Abuja.
Speaking about the meeting, Gabam said he was open to conversations centered around a better Nigeria.
Addressing journalists, he said: “There is no official statement from El-Rufai or any one of them about officially joining the SDP. As I said, they are open to conversation and negotiations for a better Nigeria. It’s not about a political party; it’s about the future of Nigeria.
“We are looking for like-minded people who believe in the future of the country so that we can work together and uplift the individual standard of Nigeria.
“It’s not just them. The attention of the media only went to them. I have received a lot of dignitaries from different political parties in the office, discussing the way forward, how to stabilize the country, and how to offer productive, progressive advice to this government so that there will not be a crisis.
“Because once the government has a crisis, it affects every Nigerian. So, part of our responsibilities is to make sure we are not facing a crisis.
“There is an ongoing conversation. When the time comes, we will arrive at a conclusion, and we will hold an official press conference.
“Once we agree on what we are going to do together, we will unveil it to all Nigerians. But at the preliminary stage, we are having our own social gatherings and discussing national issues.
“So, principally, that’s what we are doing. More like-minded people are already on board. So today, there are other heavyweights involved, with whom we are discussing.”
There have been allegations recently that El-Rufai defected from the APC to the PDP.
The former governor responded by telling the public to ignore the falsehoods and rumors regarding his political membership.
In an X post, El-Rufai wrote: “Please disregard the patent lies and rumors about my political affiliation. I have referred the lead peddlers of the fake news for further action by my lawyers.”
He said that he has directed the main propagandists of the false information to his attorneys for possible legal action.
Daniel Bwala, the presidential spokesperson, had predicted in 2022 that El-Rufai would defect to the PDP prior to the general election in 2023.
El-Rufai declared that not even his body would be seen near the PDP, dismissing the report as a laughing stock.
