El-rufai, Al-mustapha, Atiku’s men meet SDP leadership ahead of 2027 polls
Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, a former governor of Kaduna State, and Major Hamza Al-Mustapha, a former presidential candidate, were among the prominent politicians who met with the leadership of the Social Democratic Party in Abuja to outline a strategy for the 2027 general elections.
According to reports in the Daily Trust the meeting aimed to establish a united front to dislodge the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) led government in the next general elections.
This development comes two days after El-Rufai denied claims that he planned to leave the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, for an opposition party.
The former governor of Kaduna in a post on his X handle on Sunday asked Nigerians to disregard the claim.
El-Rufai posted, “Please, disregard the patent lies and rumours about my political affiliation. I have referred the lead peddlers of the fake news for further action by my lawyers.”
However, bigwigs of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), APC and the SDP were part of the yesterday’s meeting.
The reports noted that leaders of opposition parties have been engaging in consultations recently as part of efforts to either establish a merger ahead of the 2027 election or form a coalition against President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Last weekend, the Mallam Shekarau-led League of Northern Democrats (NLD) suggested plans to transition into a political party before 2027.
On his Facebook page, Segun Showunmi, a PDP chieftain and ally of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, described the meeting as strategic.
He revealed that the meeting convened by the SDP’s national chairman, Shehu Gabam, featured prominent attendees including former Kaduna State governor Nasir El-Rufai, former presidential candidate Major Hamza Al-Mustapha, himself, and others.
He announced that the meeting was called to evaluate “The state of opposition democratic engagement in Nigeria. Showunmi noted that the meeting was intended to organize a stronger opposition for Nigeria prior to the 2027 elections.
