Agunloye Speaks On El-Rufai’s Visit To SDP Secretariat

The National Secretary of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), Olu Agunloye, has said the visit of the former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, to the Abuja National Secretariat of the party is not political.

Recall that the former Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) made an unexpected appearance at the SDP headquarters on Wednesday and was received by the party leadership.

The visit of the former Kaduna governor has fueled speculations about potential political realignments and his aspirations for the 2027 general elections.

But in a chat with The Punch, Aguloye stated that El-Rufai’s visit had nothing to do with the 2027 general elections, saying it was a causal one.

The former minister said the chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) only came to visit his old friends, stressing that it did not have any link with politics.

He said, “Everybody has been friends with El-rufai. The National Chairman and El-Rufai were in the PDP at some point. El-Rufai and I were in (Olusegun) Obasanjo’s cabinet. He only came to visit his old friends. So, what can come out of that? I don’t know. Anything can and nothing may.

“It wasn’t as if there was an appointment for the visit. If you were in Abuja and came to the office, you would meet us because we are all here. So, it was a friendly visit.”

When asked if El-Rufai would consider joining the SDP, he said, “It depends on him. If he wants to join, there is no problem at all. Of course, he will be welcome. If you want to join the SDP, we will welcome you, If President Tinubu wants to join the SDP, we will welcome him.

 “But the issue at the moment is beyond whether someone is joining a party or not. There are issues on the ground which is how to save Nigeria.

“People must come together across party lines and across religious borders to address the problems. Things are not going right in Nigeria. It goes beyond just turning to God to save us as if it is God that put us in this mess.”