The All Progressives Congress (APC) says Nasir el-Rufaiโs invitation to opposition leaders to join the Social Democratic Party (SDP) โis nothing short of an invitation to drink from a chalice poisoned by selfishness, vengefulness and delusion of grandeurโ.
On March 10, el-Rufai resigned his membership of the APC and joined the SDP after months of strategic meetings with opposition party leaders.
El-rufai, who served as governor of Kaduna from 2015 to 2023, has been critical of President Bola Tinubuโs administration and the APC in recent months.
โNigerians are far more savvy than El-Rufai thinks, and they know that he is driven by raw self-interest rather than a genuine concern for the country,โ Felix Morka, APC national publicity secretary, said in a statement on Monday.
Morka said the ruling party is unfazed by โEl-Rufaiโs grudge-laden tiradeโ.
According to Morka, the APC has continued to welcome millions of new members across the country, โwho are joining to identify with the partyโs lofty values and support President Tinubuโs bold and transformative policies now birthing sustainable growth and prosperity for our countryโ.
โEl-Rufaiโs claim that Tinubu has failed is as outrageous as it is bogus, and a gross distortion of the reality on the ground,โ the APC spokesperson added.
โAcross all sectors, Nigerians are witnessing tangible progress in the delivery of the Presidentโs campaign promises. Indisputably, Nigeria is better off today than when he took office. โ
He said Nigerians are in no doubt โabout President Tinubuโs uncompromising commitment to economic reform, good governance, and improving the welfare of Nigeriansโ.
He challenged the former governor to โoffer constructive criticism or alternative policies as expected of serious minded political opposition, rather than engaging in scurrilous propaganda and deliberate misinformationโ.
Morka said el-Rufaiโs misleading rhetoric and personal attacks on the are reprehensible and calculated to undermine the countryโs progress.
โEl-Rufai is free to choose his political affiliation as he has done. He should quit sulking, get a grip, and salvage some respectability,โ he said.