Former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai is facing serious political challenges. After leaving the ruling APC for the Social Democratic Party (SDP), he has found it hard to gain support in the North-West region.

El-Rufai resigned from the APC on March 10, 2025, saying the party’s current path no longer fits his values. He promised to gather opposition parties to form a strong team to challenge the APC in future elections.

He said he would focus on bringing all opposition leaders together under the SDP, hoping to defeat the APC in elections leading up to 2027.

However, after two months, El-Rufai’s efforts have not worked. Many top politicians in the North-West have refused to join him.

Right now, the SDP has no active presence in North-Western states like Jigawa, Kaduna, or Kano.

Sources say El-Rufai tried hard to gain support from governors in Kano, Kaduna, Katsina, and Kebbi—but all efforts failed.

He reached out to many leaders, including senators and lawmakers, but none agreed to join him. Some even returned to the APC instead.

El-Rufai also tried to win over the Governor of Nasarawa, but that attempt also failed.

People don’t see the SDP as a serious option. Many believe the party is still linked to Tinubu’s past and suspect El-Rufai’s move isn’t genuine.

At the moment, SDP only has two people in the National Assembly, both from Nasarawa. El-Rufai had hoped to attract more attention and energy toward the party ahead of 2027.

In the North, people still think the SDP is connected to Tinubu’s past, which makes it hard for El-Rufai to gain trust. Some even believe his switch is part of a hidden plan to divide the opposition or that he hasn’t truly left Tinubu’s camp.

With no solid support and no strong party structure, El-Rufai is reportedly growing frustrated. He’s stuck with few choices—continue with a weak SDP or return to another troubled party.

Atiku Abubakar recently met with El-Rufai and asked him to return to the PDP, but El-Rufai refused and instead asked Atiku to join him in the SDP. He blamed PDP’s problems on internal issues, especially the influence of Nyesom Wike.

Their conversation ended without any agreement, leaving El-Rufai with no clear path forward.

So far, the only known person he has attracted to the SDP is comedian MC Tagwaye, famous for mimicking former President Buhari. However, many see this as a sign of failure, not success.

El-Rufai’s current problems began after the 2015 APC alliance, which he strongly supported. He was close to Tinubu and helped gather northern support in 2023. But after the elections, things fell apart when El-Rufai’s ministerial nomination was blocked due to security concerns.

Though the reasons were never made public, rumors say the DSS had issues with El-Rufai’s past remarks and actions.

That moment pushed El-Rufai into political isolation. He felt betrayed, thinking Tinubu didn’t defend him enough.

In Southern Nigeria, El-Rufai also faces rejection. His support for the Muslim-Muslim ticket and past religious comments have made many Christian communities distrust him.

An APC leader in Kebbi said El-Rufai is seen as too divisive in the South, which hurts his SDP campaign.

What once looked like a bold political move by El-Rufai now seems like a lonely and risky gamble with little support or reward.