The Social Democratic Party Vice Presidential Candidate in the 2023 election, Yusuf Buhari, along with the party’s Kano State governorship candidate, Bala Gwagwarawa, and their supporters, announced their defection to the ruling All Progressives Congress on Tuesday.
Their defection was facilitated by the Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Barau Jibrin.
They were formally received in Abuja by Barau, the National Chairman of the APC, Dr Abdullahi Ganduje, and members of the party’s National Working Committee.
Among those who switched allegiance with Buhari and Gwagwarawa were 38 SDP local government chairmen and secretaries, 13 House of Assembly candidates, six House of Representatives candidates, and members of the party’s State Working Committee.
The development comes just a week after former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, left the APC for the SDP.
Speaking in Abuja, Barau described the defection as proof that any plan to use the SDP as a platform to challenge President Bola Tinubu in 2027 was “dead on arrival.”
He stated, “Those who have been moving around the country, trying to woo people to the SDP, and thinking their effort will give birth to a platform that will challenge the APC in the next election, their idea has been confirmed dead on arrival.
“People have rejected that invitation. The former Governor of Jigawa State, Sule Lamido, and others who have been mentioned have also said no. To add salt to an injury, those in the SDP are now moving to the APC.
“Today, the vice presidential candidate, the governorship candidate in Kano State, and other heavyweights in the SDP have joined the APC.”
Barau also praised the defectors for acknowledging the impact of Tinubu’s reforms.
Ganduje, represented at the event by the APC National Vice Chairman (South), Emma Eneukwu, welcomed the new members and assured them of equal rights and privileges within the party.
Describing the defection as a transition from “darkness to light,” Ganduje emphasized APC’s commitment to inclusive governance under Tinubu.
“APC is a party of inclusion, where every member enjoys equal rights to contest elections and contribute to nation-building,” he stated.
Similarly, former Kano State Governor, Senator Kabiru Gaya, dismissed any notion of the SDP posing a challenge to the APC, asserting that the party had already lost its relevance.
“The party is dead because its Vice Presidential Candidate is here, the Governorship Candidate is also here, just as its other stakeholders.
“So I’m sure today we are celebrating the burial of that party.
“I will say kudos to the Deputy Senate President for your effort to bring these important and heavyweight politicians to our party,” he said.
Speaking on the sidelines, Buhari said their decision to join the APC was influenced by the successes of Tinubu’s administration.
“When this government came into power under Asiwaju, there were a lot of problems on the ground. Even though we know that the former administration has done a lot, there are still a lot of problems on the ground.
“Amongst them was the issue of insecurity. The subsidy regime has gone upside down. And because of that, President Bola Tinubu had to instil very strong and painful economic reforms. Whenever you try to come up with reforms, there have to be pains.
“But after two years, we are beginning to see the economic policies yielding fruits. The foreign exchange is beginning to stabilize. Prices of goods are coming down. Insecurity is being addressed by our military, by our brave armed forces,” he said.
On his part, Gwagwarawa explained that he and his supporters felt the need to return to their former party, citing the APC-led government’s performance over the last 18 months.
“I am part and parcel of the founders of APC. Today, we decided to come back to APC because now the country is being governed by someone who knows politics and the terrain of democracy.
“We are talking about someone who stood for democracy and believes in working hard to make this country better. That is His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu,” he enthused.
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