…Accuses former governor of vengeance, delusions
By Chinelo Obogo
The All Progressives Congress (APC) has dismissed the allegations of former governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai that the ruling party has deviated from its ideals as baseless and driven by personal grievances.
El-Rufai, in a recent interview with BBC Hausa, had accused the ruling party of abandoning its progressive ideals, claiming that the APC has become a platform for politicians pursuing personal interests. The former governor who recently defected to the Social Democratic Party (SDP), also criticised the President Bola Tinubu administration, claiming it has failed to deliver on its promises.
But the APC in a statement signed by its national publicity secretary, Felix Mirka, and released on Monday, claimed that El-Rufai’s exit from the party is an act of self-interest due his failure to secure a ministerial position under Tinubu’s administration. The party also claimed that El-Rufai’s allegations that it has deviated from its ideology is a smokescreen to mask his personal disappointment and bruised ego.
The party criticised El-Rufai’s decision to join the SDP, questioning how the party could be considered an “ideological safe haven” for progressive politics. It described his call for opposition members to join him in the SDP as an invitation to “drink from a chalice poisoned by selfishness, vengefulness, and delusions of grandeur.” The APC accused El-Rufai of being driven by self-interest rather than a genuine concern for Nigeria’s progress.
The APC said, “Assuming that matters of political conviction had anything to do with his exit, exactly how is the Social Democratic Party (SDP), El-Rufai’s new political abode, an ideological safe haven?
El-Rufai’s call for opposition members to join him under SDP banner is nothing short of an invitation to drink from a chalice poisoned by selfishness, vengefulness and delusion of grandeur.”
