Former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, has dismissed the recent wave of defections by prominent Nigerian politicians as media hype with little impact on actual election outcomes.
Addressing journalists in Kano, El-Rufai argued that the attention given to defections often misses the real drivers of political success, which, according to him, remain the ordinary voters at the grassroots.
“As far as I’m concerned, the defection of high-profile politicians is not the issue,” he said.
“These defections are good for headlines and to sell newspapers, but politically on the ground, if you don’t have the people, your profile means nothing. We want to return politics to the people, not to godfathers or so-called high-profile politicians.”
Okay.ng reports that El-Rufai’s comments come amid growing debates over political realignments across parties as Nigeria inches closer to the next general elections. However, the former minister believes that relying on high-profile names alone is not a winning strategy.
“A governor has only one vote. Nigerians have millions. If the people say no, it’s over,” he emphasized.
Backing his claim with past electoral experiences, El-Rufai recalled situations where political leaders failed to secure victories despite holding powerful positions.
“Even the president had a sitting governor and still lost Lagos. I was governor of Kaduna State. I fought hard to deliver the president in my state, but I lost. Governors don’t determine election results — the people do,” he said.
Speaking on his recent decision to join the Social Democratic Party (SDP), El-Rufai explained that the move was inspired by the need to offer Nigerians an alternative outside the two dominant parties, the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the People’s Democratic Party (PDP).
“I believe the SDP can recreate a major political force in Nigeria. Nigerians are yearning for a credible alternative — a new brand of politics, new faces, and new style of governance,” he said.
The former governor stressed that the party must avoid the mistakes of others by resisting political control by a few individuals.
“The APC started well but ended up being pocketed by one or two individuals. We want to avoid that in the SDP. We are building a party that no one owns, that offers a level playing field for all aspirants,” El-Rufai added.
Revealing the party’s plans for grassroots mobilisation, he said the SDP is targeting the registration of three million voters in Kano State as part of its broader strategy to strengthen support ahead of future elections.
“We are currently focused on building the party from the grassroots,” he said.
