{"id":116770,"date":"2025-03-14T19:55:12","date_gmt":"2025-03-14T18:55:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/?p=116770"},"modified":"2025-03-14T19:55:12","modified_gmt":"2025-03-14T18:55:12","slug":"he-doesnt-believe-in-democracy-sdp-youth-group-rejects-el-rufais-defection","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/exclusive\/he-doesnt-believe-in-democracy-sdp-youth-group-rejects-el-rufais-defection\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018He doesn\u2019t believe in democracy\u2019 \u200a\u2014\u200a SDP youth group rejects El-Rufai\u2019s defection"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"m#msg-f:1826590746507089088\" class=\"mail-message expanded\">\n<div class=\"mail-message-header spacer\" style=\"text-align: justify;\">A youth coalition within Nigeria\u2019s Social Democratic Party (SDP) has rejected the defection of former Kaduna State governor, Nasir El-Rufai, saying his \u201chistory is littered with anti-democratic tendencies, disregard for inclusivity.\u201d<\/div>\n<div id=\"m#msg-f:1826590746507089088-content\" class=\"mail-message-content collapsible zoom-normal mail-show-images \" style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<div class=\"clear\">\n<div dir=\"auto\">\nAfter criticising the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and meetings with opposition leaders, El-Rufai left the party and officially joined the SDP earlier this week.<\/p>\n<p>However, his move has sparked outrage among some party members, particularly within the SDP Youths and Supporters Coalition.<\/p>\n<p>In a statement issued on Friday, the group, led by its president, Comrade Abdulsamad Bello, described El-Rufai as \u201cunfit and morally unqualified\u201d to be part of the SDP, citing what it called his \u201canti-democratic record\u201d during his tenure as governor.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe reject El-Rufai\u2019s entrance into our party in its entirety. He has come not as a reformer but as an undertaker, seeking to bury the SDP before it even has the chance to grow,\u201d Bello said.<\/p>\n<p>The coalition also criticised the party\u2019s leadership for what it described as a \u201cclandestine deal\u201d that allowed El-Rufai\u2019s defection, warning that his presence could destabilise the party.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEl-Rufai has never believed in democracy. His history of suppressing opposition voices, sidelining party members, and enforcing his will through coercion is well known,\u201d Bello added.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt is shocking that the leadership of our party would allow itself to be infiltrated by someone whose tenure in office was marked by impunity, authoritarianism, and disregard for democratic values.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The former governor\u2019s entry into the party has already sparked tensions. On Wednesday, his supporters staged a demonstration at the SDP national headquarters in Abuja, calling for the resignation of the party\u2019s national secretary, Olu Agunloye.<\/p>\n<p>According to the youth coalition, this is evidence of El-Rufai\u2019s attempt to seize control of the party\u2019s leadership.<\/p>\n<div dir=\"auto\">\n\u201cBarely days after joining our party, El-Rufai is already pushing for a leadership change. He is demanding that Olu Agunloye resigns, even when the party has its own internal mechanisms for handling such matters. This is a clear sign of his desperation to control the SDP and mould it in his own image,\u201d the statement added.<\/p>\n<p>The group accused El-Rufai of using the SDP as a platform for his personal political ambitions, particularly in light of his recent criticisms of President Bola Tinubu and the APC.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEl-Rufai\u2019s resignation from the APC and his calculated entry into the SDP is nothing but a desperate attempt to reinvent himself politically,\u201d Bello added.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe same man who once insulted opposition leaders and dismissed them as irrelevant is now seeking refuge in their midst. His hypocrisy knows no bounds.\u201d<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"mail-message-footer spacer collapsible\" style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<!-- AddThis Advanced Settings generic via filter on the_content --><!-- AddThis Share Buttons generic via filter on the_content --><!-- AddThis Related Posts generic via filter on the_content -->","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A youth coalition within Nigeria\u2019s Social Democratic Party (SDP) has rejected the defection of former Kaduna State governor, Nasir El-Rufai, saying his \u201chistory is littered with anti-democratic tendencies, disregard for&hellip;<!-- AddThis Advanced Settings generic via filter on wp_trim_excerpt --><!-- AddThis Share Buttons generic via filter on wp_trim_excerpt --><!-- AddThis Related Posts generic via filter on wp_trim_excerpt --><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":83212,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-116770","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-exclusive"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.8 - 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