El-Rufai, Al-Mustapha, SDP’s Gabam, PDP’s Sowunmi Hold Strategic Meeting on Opposition Politics

Former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai, ex-Chief Security Officer to late General Sani Abacha Hamza Al-Mustapha, Social Democratic Party (SDP) Chairman Shehu Gabam, and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chieftain Segun Sowunmi convened on Tuesday for a strategic meeting. The discussion reportedly focused on reviewing the state of opposition democratic engagement in Nigeria.

Segun Sowunmi shared insights from the meeting in a post on X, stating, “You must set forth at dawn, a strategic meeting called by HE Shehu Gabam, Chairman of SDP, with HE @elrufai, El-Rufai, Major Hamza Al-Mustapha, Otunba Segun Sowunmi. The alternative, to meet and greet and review the state of opposition democratic engagement in Nigeria.”

The meeting follows speculation regarding El-Rufai’s political affiliations, including rumors of a potential defection from the All Progressives Congress (APC) to the PDP. El-Rufai firmly denied these claims, calling them “patent lies and rumours,” and revealed that his legal team was addressing the issue.

This isn’t the first time El-Rufai has been linked with defection rumors. In 2022, presidential spokesman Daniel Bwala suggested El-Rufai would join the PDP before the 2023 elections. El-Rufai dismissed the claim on X, writing, “Thanks @BwalaDaniel but no, thanks. Never ever, not even my corpse will be found in the vicinity of your newfound political party. I still dey laugh.”