A former APC national vice-chairman (North West), Salihu Lukman, has described former Kaduna state governor Nasir el-Rufai’s defection to Social Democratic Party (SDP) as too hasty, saying it may disrupt 2027 coalition talks.

Mr Lukman stated this while speaking with journalists on Monday in Abuja.

Mr el-Rufai had, in a statement on his verified Facebook page on Monday, announced his defection from the ruling APC to SDP, citing some reasons for his action.

Mr Lukman, a political ally of Mr el-Rufai and former National Working Committee (NWC) member of APC, expressed concern that the former governor’s defection could disrupt ongoing negotiations for a broader political coalition ahead of the 2027 general elections.

Although he stated that Mr el-Rufai’s defection had been anticipated, he, however, said that he should have exercised more patience to allow coalition talks to be finalised.

“It was expected. Even after the interview he granted on a national television, you can see the handwriting on the wall. But whether it is going to come so soon is what even I couldn’t have said.

“My expectation was that he should have been a bit patient for us to work as a group based on the current negotiation that is ongoing,” Mr Lukman said.

While acknowledging Mr el-Rufai’s right to political association, the former APC chieftain warned that the timing of his defection might have unintended consequences for opposition realignments.

When asked if he would be joining the former governor in SDP, the former director-general of the Progressives Governors’ Forum (PGF) said that could only happen if the party met the conditions set for it.

“At the moment, they are yet to meet the conditions. We are in discussion, no doubt about it. If they meet the conditions tomorrow, fine,” he said.

On the planned coalition, Mr Lukman said that negotiations were still ongoing.

“I think the discussion about whether SDP will be there or not has been an ongoing thing.

“The challenge is the question of whether SDP will submit itself to some of the conditions that we believe are necessary,” he said.

According to him, while most conventional politicians just need a platform to achieve political power, there are a few politicians, including himself, who believe the issue is beyond that.

“What Nigerians need is a platform that will promote political competition in the country. If you remember, the problem Nigerians had with PDP is the problem of imposition of candidates,” he said.

(NAN)