Sunday Aborisade in Abuja

National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, Alhaji Umar Ganduje, yesterday, welcomed the 2023 Vice Presidential candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), Yusuf Buhari, alongside the party’s Kano State governorship candidate, Bala Mohammed Gwagwarawa, into the APC.

The defection which was facilitated by the Deputy President of the Senate, Barau Jibrin, also saw members of the Kano State SDP Working Committee, 38 local government party chairmen and secretaries, 13 house of assembly and six House of Representatives candidates, embracing the ruling party.

Ganduje and Barau on the occasion, which took place in Abuja, said the defection of the heavyweights of the SDP showed that the mission to use the party to tackle the APC in 2027 was dead on arrival.

The move, according to various speakers on the occasion, marked a major setback for former Governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai, who recently joined the party ahead of the 2027 general elections.

Addressing the defectors Ganduje  assured them that they would be availed of all rights and privileges accorded all all party members.

Represented by the Deputy National Chairman (South),  Chief Emma Eneukwu, Ganduje described the defection as a transition “from darkness to light,” underscoring APC’s role as a beacon of transformative leadership under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. 

He also  described them as “political heavyweights” with deep grassroots connections, and praised them for aligning with a party dedicated to national renewal.

Barau said, “Let me start by saying those who have been moving around, going around the country, trying to woo people to SDP, and thinking that their effort will give birth to a platform that will challenge the APC in the next election, the idea is confirmed to be dead on arrival.

“Why do I say that? People have rejected that invitation. People have said no, we are not coming to your party. The former governor of Jigawa State, Sule Lamido and others, who have been mentioned have said no.

“To add salt into an injury, those who are in the party (SDP) are now moving to our party, APC. The party is going to be empty. Today, the Vice Presidential Candidate, the Governorship Candidate in Kano State and other heavyweights in the SDP have joined APC.

“If we had postponed the meeting to tomorrow, we would have gotten almost all the candidates who stood under the banner of the party in various states being part of this. But we are going to do that in another day in the future,” he said.

On his part, Senator Kabiru Gaya, told the gathering that the SDP was already empty by the time El-Rufai joined it.

“The party is dead because the Vice Presidential candidate is here, the Governorship Candidate of SDP is here, and all other stakeholders of SDP are here. So I’m sure today we are celebrating the burial of that party.

“I would say kudos to the Deputy Senate President for your effort to bring these important and heavyweight politicians to our party,” he said.

The Vice Presidential Candidate of the SDP, Yusuf Buhari, said they were motivated to the APC by the successes being recorded under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

He said, “The fact of the matter is that everything is very clear. When this government came into power under the Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, there were a lot of problems on the ground.

A former governorship candidate of the SDP in Kano, Bala Muhammad Gwagwarwa, said they decided to return to APC given the outstanding performance of President Tinubu in about two years.

“Today we decided to come back to the family. APC is a family to me. I’m 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, who knows the terrain of democracy.”

​