El-Rufai’s defection to SDP, too early – Salihu Lukman

Mallam Salihu Moh Lukman, a key strategist in the proposed national political coalition ahead of the 2027 general elections, has stated that former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai’s defection to the Social Democratic Party (SDP) was premature.

Lukman, a former Director-General of the Progressives Governors Forum (PGF), acknowledged El-Rufai’s move but clarified that he would not be joining the SDP unless the party aligns with the coalition’s agenda and broadens its structure to accommodate their objectives.

Speaking with newsmen Monday in Abuja, when asked to respond to El-Rufai’s defection to the SDP, Lukman 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.”

According Lukman, it’s expected even after the interview he granted on Arise TV. 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 adop 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 is 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.”