Buba Galadima, a chieftain of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), has claimed that former Kaduna State governor, Nasir El-Rufai, is acting as a proxy for former Vice President Atiku Abubakar within the Social Democratic Party (SDP).
Speaking during an interview with AIT, Galadima questioned Atiku’s decision to align with El-Rufai despite the ex-governor’s past criticisms of him.
He recalled that El-Rufai once told Atiku to “save his money for his children” and insisted the former vice president would never become president.
He further argued that El-Rufai lacks political weight, citing the 2020 elections in which, despite being the sitting governor, the PDP won all three senatorial seats and 12 of 14 House of Representatives seats in Kaduna.
The remaining seats, he noted, were split between the APC and Labour Party.
Galadima dismissed the new SDP coalition as ineffectual, branding their efforts as mere “noisemaking.”
He asserted that El-Rufai’s current political influence is negligible, especially now that he is no longer in office and in conflict with the current state administration.
He emphasized that the NNPP remains the most viable platform to unify opposition parties ahead of the 2027 elections.
The comments come in the wake of a newly announced political alliance under the SDP, involving Atiku, El-Rufai, and other high-profile politicians.
Former SDP presidential candidate Adewale Adebayo confirmed that talks are ongoing to bring both Atiku and Labour Party’s Peter Obi into the party, with the aim of forming a united front to challenge President Bola Tinubu in 2027.