Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has said that the emerging opposition coalition led by the African Democratic Congress, ADC, is not centred on individual political gladiators like himself, Peter Obi, Rotimi Amaechi or Nasir El-Rufai, but on rescuing Nigeria?s democracy from what he described as the ruling party?s creeping authoritarianism and manipulation of the electoral process.

The media has been awash with speculations of looming battle for the coalition?s 2027 presidential ticket among the political figures.

Atiku made the remarks through his Media Adviser, Mazi Paul Ibe, in an exclusive interview with Vanguard in Abuja yesterday.

He stressed that the coalition?s central goal is to protect the integrity of Nigeria?s democracy, which he said is under threat from the All Progressives Congress, APC, administration.

?This is not an anti-Tinubu project; it is a pro-Nigerian movement. Nigerians must be the ultimate beneficiaries of this effort,? he stated.

The 2023 presidential candidate spoke as the National Working Committee, NWC, of the Social Democratic Party, SDP, said it has disowned the immediate past Kaduna State Governor, El-Rufai and banished him for 30 years for not registering with the SDP and dragging the party into the Coalition.

Atiku alleged that the ruling party was already laying the groundwork to rig the 2027 elections, citing the controversial appointment of a former Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, official, who previously headed the IT department, as APC national chairman.

?The appointment of a former REC of INEC as the APC national chairman is deeply troubling. This isn?t just any ordinary REC; this is someone who held a strategic position, such as heading the Information Technology (IT), Department of INEC.

?This move clearly indicates that the ruling party is not interested in winning elections through due process or on the strength of their performance during their first mandate. Instead, they are laying the groundwork to rig the upcoming election,? he said.

Atiku stressed the need for unity among opposition parties and leaders, warning that ?any internal divisions would benefit those who intend on clinging to power, those who oppose us, those who wish to maintain the status quo, seek to exploit any cracks within our ranks, turning them into craters. We cannot afford this. Unity is our strength; when we stand together, it becomes difficult for anyone to sow seeds of discord,? he said.

?This is not about individual leaders like Atiku Abubakar, Nasir El-Rufai, or others within the coalition. It is about the well-being and future of Nigeria. It is about enabling Nigerians to recover and rebuild their nation. This is the essence of our project, and we must remind ourselves of it daily as we work together.

?Our mission is about enabling Nigerians to recover and rebuild their nation. It?s crucial to keep these goals in mind and avoid the mistake of counting our chickens before they are hatched,? he warned.

SDP disowns El Rufai, banishes him for 30 years

Meanwhile, the SDP said it has expelled and banished Mallam el-Rufai, who reportedly abandoned APC and joined the party on March 10, 2025 because he had been parading himself as a member of the SDP despite the assertion of the Kaduna State Executives that he had not joined the SDP but had instead been promoting the activities of another political party in the state.

In a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Araba Rufus Aiyenigba, yesterday, the party said that el-Rufai failed to register at his Ward as required by the law despite publishing on social media that he had joined the SDP.

The statement read in part: ?In line with the Constitution of the SDP, the ideology, manifesto, principles and practices thereof, and in consonance with the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the Electoral Act pertaining to the exclusive right of a political party to determine its membership, the National Working Committee deliberated on the controversial membership status of Nasir el-Rufai from Kaduna State who has in recent months been parading himself as a member of the SDP despite the assertion of the Kaduna State Executives that he has not joined the SDP but has instead been promoting the activities of other political party in the state.

?At the initial stage, el-Rufai was given the benefit of the doubt given his status as an elderly person, a former Minister and State Governor who should know the implications of false representation and impersonation, especially given the fact that he published on his social media handles that he had joined the SDP which led to congratulatory messages from prominent leaders of our party and a letter of support at his request by the National Publicity Secretary.

?However upon thorough inquiry, it turned out that the Kaduna State SDP was right and this individual had not joined the SDP. The following facts emerged:

?El-Rufai failed to register at his Ward as required by the law despite falsely publishing on social media that he had joined the SDP;

?El-Rufai devoted so much time to putting up false representation of membership by seeking photo opportunities with the suspended National Chairman Shehu Musa Gabam and some leaders of the SDP who assumed that he had joined the SDP in Kaduna State.?

Claiming that el-Rufai?s inclusion in the SDP membership register of Unguwar Sarki Ward, Kaduna North Local Government Area with number 001 was false and contrary to all existing and updated records of the SDP in Kaduna State, the party alleged that el-Rufai was trading with the name of SDP in the ADC-backed coalition and other political fora, which it described as destabilising.

?The NWC therefore and hereby decides that by confirming and ratifying the denunciation of Nasir Ahmad El-Rufai which was earlier done by his Unguwar Sarki Ward, Kaduna North Local Government Area and Kaduna State Executive Committee in Kaduna State, the SDP at all levels disassociates, disclaims, disfellowships, excommunicates Nasir Ahmad El-Rufai as a member of the SDP; and to the extent that he purportedly claims membership by self-registration or any other means, Nasir Ahmad El-rufai is consequently expelled from the membership of the Social Democratic Party anywhere in Nigeria and globally.

?The foregoing actions by the NWC, which are in the exercise of its exclusive powers as guaranteed in Article 19.1; 19.3(i) and 19.5 of the Party Constitution 2022, (as amended) are consequent upon the unacceptable acts of gross indiscipline of Nasir Ahmad El-Rufai, particularly, in respect of the undeniable fact of having publicly declared for the ADC, which is chosen as their so-called ?coalition? vehicle and his confirmed acts towards dragging the SDP dishonestly into their so-called coalition through the back door; and his selfish agenda to destabilise the party (having failed in his mission), by way of sponsoring a group of dissidents to call an illegal National Executive Committee, NEC, meeting of the Party on Friday July 25, 2025, Nasir Ahmad Elrufai is hereby banished and banned from applying to the membership, identifying with the name, insignia, logo, symbol, mark or any activities, organs, agencies and institutions of the SDP or donating to, supporting, contributing to, participating in any affairs of the SDP for a period of 30 (thirty) years effective from today.? (Vanguard)

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