The defection of a former Governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai to the Social Democratic Party (SDP), is too early, one of the chief strategists and key actors in the proposed national political coalition ahead of 2027 general elections, Mallam Salihu Lukman, has said.
He however declared that he would not join El-Rufai in SDP unless the party met the coalition before it and opened up its fold.
Lukman, a former Director General of the Progressives Governors Forum (PGF), was reacting to the defection of El-Rufai, a former Governor of Kaduna State.
He said, “Only if SDP meets the conditions we have set, which I have highlighted. At the moment, they have not met. We are in discussion, no doubt about it. If they meet it tomorrow, fine.”
Lukman said he was not surprised at El-Rufai’s defection after the interview he granted on Arise News.
He said, “It is expected after his interview on Arise News. You can see the handwriting. But whether it is going to come so soon is what even I couldn’t have said.
“My expectation was that he should have been a bit patient for us to walk out as a group based on the current negotiation that is ongoing.
“But he knows better and I do hope his decision is not going to become like a kind of break away from whatever we are doing. My hope is that at the end, we should be able to reconcile and work together under one platform.”
When asked to speak on whether the proposed coalition will adopt SDP as the platform for 2027 elections, Lukman said, “I think the discussion about whether SDP will be there or not has been an ongoing thing.
“The challenge is a question of whether SDP will submit itself to some of the conditions that we believe are necessary. What are these conditions? Frankly speaking, unlike most conventional politicians, most conventional politicians who just want a platform where they will present candidates and use it to win elections, there are a few of us who believe the issue is beyond that.
“What Nigerians need is a platform that will promote political competition in the country. If you remember, the problem Nigerians had with PDP is the problem of imposition of candidates. And when the APC came and promised ‘Change’, the expectation of Nigerians was that we will change the culture of imposition.
“Unfortunately, we have failed in that. In fact, it has become worse. If things continue as they are, you can predict that President Asiwaju will become the candidate of APC, and you can predict all the first-time governors of APC will emerge as the candidate of APC, whether they are popular in their states or not. You can also predict all legislators at federal and state levels, whether they have performed or not.
“So long as they are in the good books of Asiwaju and the party leadership, they will be returned.”
