Nasir El-Rufai, the former governor of Kaduna State, is pushing for a unified opposition by calling on prominent politicians like Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi to join the Social Democratic Party (SDP).
He has rejected the idea of a broad merger, instead advocating for the SDP as the platform to challenge President Tinubu in 2027.
This follows El-Rufai’s resignation from the APC due to differing values.
In a BBC Hausa interview, he directly appealed to these figures to join the SDP.
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The Presidency, however, has responded by emphasizing that President Tinubu’s current priority is addressing Nigeria’s economic challenges, not the upcoming elections.
His focus, according to his media advisor, is on improving the lives of Nigerians.
“He’s worried about how the reforms he has put in place will yield necessary impact. He is concerned about what happens to the economy of this country eventually. That’s the focus.
“We’ve seen our foreign reserves go up. We’ve seen inflation come down. We’ve seen our trade surplus go up.
“We’ve seen exports go up and imports drop.
“We’ve seen the investments that have been attracted -over 50 billion. We are seeing prices dropping.
“We have clear data and you have a President that is clearly in the driver’s seat, and he has stayed the course of the decisions he has taken.
“And I think that the next election is not really in his view right now.
“It’s how to make sure that at the end of his first term, he can sit back and say, look, “I have impacted the lives of Nigerians. I have turned this economy around”.
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During his BBC interview, Nasir El-Rufai specifically called upon Peter Obi, Atiku Abubakar, and Rauf Aregbesola to create a political alliance with him, with the goal of contesting the 2027 elections.
“My wishes and prayers are Atiku Abubakar, Peter Obi, Rotimi Amaechi, Rauf, all opposition leaders to come and join SDP, not to do a merger or to register a new political party,” he said.
“What pains me is that the government we supported and had confidence in would do well because we saw what Tinubu did in Lagos despite his challenges,” he said.
“We all know about his issues in Chicago, but we thought if he could replicate his work in Lagos for Nigeria, let’s support him. However, he failed.”
El-Rufai stated that his potential presidential candidacy in 2027 hinges on the decision of the political party he joins and the support of the Nigerian people.
“It is not for me to decide; it is the party and the people that will decide. Even when I was contesting for governor, it was people that met and convinced (Muhammadu) Buhari, and he called me and asked me to contest,” he said.
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