Senator Ahmed Aliyu Wadada, who represents Nasarawa West in the Nigerian Senate, has announced plans to resign from the Social Democratic Party (SDP), citing irreconcilable differences with some recent entrants into the party, particularly former Kaduna State Governor, Malam Nasir El-Rufai.
In an interview with journalists in Keffi on Sunday, Wadada said that while El-Rufai is his elder brother, he cannot share the same political platform with someone whose principles he no longer respects.
“Even though Malam El-Rufai is my elder brother, I don’t think I can stay with him in the SDP because he is not a principled politician,” Wadada stated.
The senator criticized El-Rufai’s political realignment, recalling his strong support for power rotation to the South and his key role in President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s emergence as the APC presidential candidate and eventual winner.
Wadada questioned what had changed between then and now to warrant El-Rufai’s defection to the SDP, especially following his failure to secure a ministerial appointment.
“What changed in President Tinubu between the time El-Rufai supported him and now that he has defected to the SDP?” he asked.
Wadada described the move as self-serving and inconsistent with the values he believes a public servant should uphold.
He went on to praise Senator Abdullahi Adamu as a model of consistency and integrity, citing Adamu’s support for Senator Ahmad Lawan during the APC primaries and his continued loyalty to the APC even after Lawan’s loss.
“That’s the kind of politics I respect—principled, not opportunistic,” he said.
On national matters, Senator Wadada acknowledged the current economic hardships stemming from the removal of fuel subsidies, but expressed hope, pointing out that state governments now have more resources for development.
He commended Governor Abdullahi Sule of Nasarawa State for effectively using subsidy savings to improve infrastructure and welfare in the state.
“In Nasarawa State, the impact of the oil subsidy funds is visible everywhere—even to the most gullible and the blind,” he added.
Senator Wadada set to dump SDP over ‘principled differences’ with El-Rufai
