Former Kaduna State governor, Nasir El-Rufai has declared the ruling party All Progressives Congress, APC dead.
It is recalled that El-Rufai, a former staunched member of APC has decamped from the party and joined the Social Democratic Party, SDP.
He worked for the emergence of President Bola Tinubu as president but trouble began when he was sidelined by the president for a ministerial appointment.
His decampment from the party generated negative reactions from the president loyalists who said El-Rufai was embittered over his failure to clinch ministerial appointment under President Tinubu.
However while speaking in an interview with the BBC Hausa Service in Kaduna on his reasons for leaving the party, El-Rufai carpeted President Tinubu for appointing only ‘Lagos boys ‘ into his cabinet and sidelining those who worked for him to become president.
He noted that the way the party is currently being run is against its founding principles and declared it dead.
“The APC has derailed, the party is no longer abiding by its founding principles. Everyone is working for himself, looking for money. The government is commercialised, everything has a price tag.
Justice has been kept at bay, those who worked for the party were ignored instead of being compensated. If there is any position or appointment, they give it to a Lagos boy,” El-Rufai said.
He added: “That is why we’ve been speaking, we spoke, we said this is not the party we know. The party is dead. I said the only option is for me to meet Pastor Tunde Bakare, because he dragged me into APC. He took me to Buhari. I did not join the APC because of Buhari, it was Pastor Bakare, who dragged me to APC and courtesy demands I should let him know.
“Buhari too, I told him I was leaving the party, I sought his blessings and prayers. He said he has given me his blessings and prayers. We are the ones in politics, he (Buhari) is now father of the land and has been praying for us, so what remains?
“I’ve publicly denounced my membership of the party, they can go and hold on to the party, they can eat the party alone like food,we’ve given up.”
He also denied the popular view that he left the party because he was not considered for ministerial appointment adding that he did not request for the appointment in the first place. He also claimed that many of the current ministers bought their appointments with money.
The former governor also said prior to Tinubu becoming President, he (Tinubu) begged him to come and help him solve the electricity problem the country is facing.
He accused the President of derailing from policies they had put in place to run the government. He also accused the party leaders of sidelining him in the affairs of the party.
“But did I even look for the ministerial position? I know those who even paid money to be appointed as ministers. I was marginalized, not involved in all party activities. What we had planned to implement when we formed the government is not what’s being implemented,” he said.
