Former presidential aide Reno Omokri has dismissed Nasir El-Rufai’s recent defection to the Social Democratic Party (SDP), downplaying its significance and questioning the former Kaduna State governor’s electoral influence. Omokri’s remarks came in response to El-Rufai’s decision to leave the All Progressives Congress (APC) and declare allegiance to the SDP, a move that has sparked widespread political discussions ahead of the 2027 general elections.
In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Omokri highlighted the APC’s poor performance in Kaduna State under El-Rufai’s leadership during the 2023 elections. He pointed out that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) won the presidential election, all three senatorial seats, and 10 out of 16 House of Representatives seats in the state, while the APC secured only four. Omokri also noted that the APC barely won the gubernatorial election, defeating the PDP by a narrow margin of just 10,806 votes.
“If Malam Nasir el-Rufai performed so woefully at the polls as an incumbent governor, why should anyone lose sleep over him leaving the APC for the SDP, which died in 1993 and has been in the mortuary pending burial in 2027?” Omokri wrote.
Omokri also took a scathing swipe at El-Rufai, referring to him as the “Butcher of Kaduna” and accusing him of complicity in the Southern Kaduna and Shiite crises. He sarcastically wished El-Rufai luck in his “fourth political party since 1999,” suggesting that any state wishing to experience the same turmoil as Southern Kaduna under his tenure could support the SDP in 2027.
El-Rufai, who recently resigned from the APC and joined the SDP, has yet to respond to Omokri’s remarks. His defection has, however, ignited debates about his political future and the potential impact of his move on the SDP’s fortunes in the upcoming 2027 elections.
As political tensions rise, analysts are closely watching how El-Rufai’s defection will shape the dynamics of Nigeria’s political landscape, particularly in Kaduna State and beyond.