An ally of Mallam Nasir El-Rufai has confirmed the defection move of the former governor of Kaduna State amid a viral social media letter.

In a letter making the rounds on social media, El-Rufai purportedly announced his resignation from the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), a party which he is a founding member.

Parts of the letter entitled: “Onwards to the future”, reads: “As a founding member of the All Progressives Congress (APC), I have fond memories of working with other compatriots to negotiate the merger of political parties that created the APC. It had been my hope since 2013 that my personal values and that of the APC will align up to the time I choose to retire from politics.

“Developments in the last two years confirm that there is no desire on the part of those who currently control and run the APC to acknowledge, much less address, the unhealthy situation of the party. On my part, I have raised concerns in private and, more recently, in public regarding the capricious trajectory of the party. Therefore, at this point in my political journey, I have come to the conclusion that I must seek another political platform for the pursuit of the progressive values I cherish. Today, the 10th of March 2025, I have submitted a letter resigning my membership of the APC to my ward in Kaduna, effective immediately. Subsequent to this, I had concluded consultations with my mentors, colleagues and loyalists alike about the future, and have decided to join the Social Democratic Party (SDP), and adopt it as the platform for our future political engagements and activities.”

Muyiwa Adekeye, spokesperson of El-Rufai, did not respond to multiple messages seeking his reaction to the letter.

But sources in El-Rufai’s camp confirmed that all arrangements have been made for the former governor to submit his resignation letter to the APC at his ward in Kaduna.

An ally, who served as a commissioner under El-Rufai’s administration told Daily Trust that El-Rufai would be leaving the APC for the SDP today.

“Yes, we are all aware that he (El-Rufai) will tender his resignation from APC today, Monday, 10th March 2025, and join SDP. That is all we have been waiting for,” the source said.

The source further stated that El-Rufai’s supporters were not surprised by the leaked letter, as they were already aware of the development.

He said having worked closely with the former governor, he could vouch for the authenticity of the letter, which is yet to be posted on any of the social media platforms of El-Rufai, an avid social media user.

The tussle between the two claimants to the position of National Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) intensified yesterday with counter-notices by them at the 99th National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting of the party.

One of the claimants, Sunday Udeh-Okoye, had in a letter said the NEC meeting had been moved from March 15 to May 15, 2025.

But Senator Samuel Anyanwu dismissed the letter, describing Udeh-Okoye as an ‘agent of destruction.’

The unsigned letter which had the designation of PDP National Secretary under Udeh-Okoye was made available to reporters in Abuja through the party’s Publicity Directorate.

Surprised by the letter, Anyanwu sent a one-page memo to PDP governors, NEC and Board of Trustees(BoT) members asking them to discard the notice by Ude-Okoye.

The memo titled “Re: Notice Of 99th NEC Meeting’ was also made available to reporters.

In it, Anyanwu emphasised that “Udeh Okoye is not the national secretary of our dear party and was never in any National Working Committee (NWC) meeting where he was mandated to issue such notice.”

The memo partly reads: “My attention has been drawn to a misleading letter on the above subject matter signed by Rt. Hon S. K. E, Udeh Okoye in the designation of PDP national secretary.

“Our party leaders, NEC members, BOT, governors forum and the general public are hereby advised to disregard the purported letter as it emanates from a non-official and authoritative source. The said Udeh Okoye is not the national secretary of our dear party and was never in any NWC meeting where he was mandated to issue such a notice.

“Udeh-Okoye should be aware that he is under a restraining order of the court of competent jurisdiction to stop parading himself as the national secretary of PDP pending the determination of the appeal lying before the apex court of the nation.

“It is obvious from the conduct of Udeh-Okoye that he is an agent set to destroy the party.

‘’He is therefore warned to refrain from further acts that tend to undermine the peace and stability of the party and again impugn the integrity of the judiciary.

“Nothing coming from the said Udeh-Okoye is recognised by law; he is only putting the party to public ridicule.’’

Southsouth, Southwest and Northcentral zonal congresses to hold April 12

The earlier postponed zonal congresses of the party in the Southsouth, Southwest and Northcentral will be held simultaneously on April 12.

PDP’s National Publicity Secretary Debo Ologunagba said in a statement the NWC approved the new date.

Ologunagba said: “The zonal congresses will hold simultaneously in Port Harcourt, Rivers State (SouthSouth ); Ibadan, Oyo State (Southwest) and Jos, Plateau State (Northcentral) to elect the executive officers and national ex-officio members for the respective zonal chapters in line with the constitution and guidelines of our great party.’

He added that the NWC charged ‘’ all aspirants, leaders, critical stakeholders, teeming members of our party in the respective zones, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), security agencies and the media’’ to note the date.

Also yesterday, the Conference of Professionals in the Peoples Democratic Party (CP-PDP) described the appointment of Southsouth Zonal Caretaker Committee members as a right for unity and stability of the party in the zone.

The conference, in a statement by its Protem National Coordinator. Obinna Nwachukwu urged the Elder Emmanuel Ogidi-led caretaker committee ‘’not to be distracted but work with stakeholders in the Southsouth to further ensure the stability and growth of the party.’’