Tinubu Mocks El-Rufai Over 30-Year SDP Ban, Says Ex- gov Is Internally Displaced
The Nigerian presidency has ridiculed former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, over his expulsion from the Social Democratic Party (SDP) and a 30-year ban from holding any political position within the party.
Naija News House earlier reported that SDP in a statement issued on Monday by its National Publicity Secretary, Araba Rufus Aiyenigba announced the expulsion of El-Rufai and ban from the party for 30 years.
According to the SDP’s National Working Committee (NWC), the decision aligns with the party’s constitution, manifesto, ideology, and internal regulations, as well as the Nigerian Constitution and the Electoral Act, which grant political parties the exclusive right to determine their membership.
The SDP also cautioned its members nationwide, as well as the general public, against engaging with Mallam Nasir El-Rufai in any political capacity, stating that he is not a member of the party and does not represent its interests at any level or for any purpose.
The party also called on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and other relevant agencies to recognise El-Rufai’s non-member status and his ineligibility for party membership until July 28, 2055.
According to the National Working Committee (NWC), despite confirmation from the Kaduna State chapter that El-Rufai has not officially joined the SDP, he has continued to falsely present himself as a member while promoting the activities of rival political parties in the state.
The statement noted that El-Rufai failed to register at his ward as required by the law despite falsely publishing on social media that he had joined the party.
The party alleged that instead he devoted so much time to putting up false representation of membership by seeking photo opportunities with the suspended National Chairman Shehu Musa Gabam and some leaders of the party who assumed that he had joined the party in Kaduna State.
The party also accused El-Rufai of intolerance and persecution of the party as an opposition, while he held sway as the Governor of Kaduna State under the All Progressives Congress (APC).
The statement further noted that the SDP was committed to national patriotism, party discipline, ideological clarity, moral rectitude, candour, honour, integrity, principled opposition, fair contest and internal democracy.
Reacting to the development, Bayo Onanuga, the Special Adviser on Information and Strategy to President Bola Tinubu, described El-Rufai as an internally displaced politician.
“Internally Displaced Again!” Onanuga wrote in a post on his verified X (formerly Twitter) handle on Monday.
