Former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, on Tuesday, held a meeting with leaders of the Peoples Democratic Party and the Social Democratic Party in Katsina State.
The meeting, held at a private venue in Katsina, centred around potential political realignments ahead of the 2027 election.
The former governor and chieftain of the SDP held a closed-door meeting with top officials of the PDP, led by the former Secretary to the Katsina State Government, Dr Mustapha Inuwa, and SDP stalwarts.
Although details of the meeting were not made available to journalists, the meeting was not unconnected with the former governor’s drive to engage politicians to form a coalition to oust President Bola Tinubu from Aso Rock by 2027.
The meeting came a day after the governors elected on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party declared the PDP would not join any coalition.
El-Rufai had on Monday visited Katsina State Governor Dikko Radda, to condole him on the loss of his mother, Hajia Safara’u Umaru Barebari.
He was accompanied on the visit to the governor by a former governor of Sokoto State, Aminu Tambuwal.
The former Kaduna State governor dumped the All Progressives Congress on March 10, 2025, citing a growing misalignment between his personal values and the current direction of the APC as the primary reason for his decision.
In a press statement released on his X handle to announce his defection from the APC, El-Rufai expressed his disappointment with the APC’s leadership, accusing the party of straying from the progressive ideals of its founding members.
“As a founding member of the All Progressives Congress, I have fond memories of working with other compatriots to negotiate the merger of political parties that created the APC.
“Since 2013, I have hoped that my personal values and those of the APC will continue to align until I choose to retire from politics.
“Developments in the last two years confirm that those who currently control and run the APC do not desire to acknowledge, much less address, the party’s unhealthy situation.
“I have raised concerns in private and, more recently, in public regarding the party’s capricious trajectory.
“Therefore, at this point in my political journey, I have come to the conclusion that I must seek another political platform to pursue the progressive values I cherish.”