Galadima dismisses SDP defections, labels Party as APC offshoot

Alhaji Buba Galadima, a chieftain of the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP), has downplayed the defection wave to the Social Democratic Party (SDP), saying the party is a branch of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

Galadima, speaking on Arise Television on Tuesday, March 18, 2025, said it is not out of place that NNPP chieftains are joining the SDP because, according to him, the party is an appendage of the ruling party.

He said, “The SDP that you talked about in your introduction is a branch of the APC. It was those APC people that moved to what you now called SDP. Nothing more. How many people from other parties have moved to the SDP? That is the question the people should ask. So, it is not out of place, you’re in Lagos. this is the character of Lagos to decimate opposition.”

Galadima’s comment followed Malam Nasir El-Rufai’s call for opposition leaders to join the SDP in 2027 to wrestle power from the APC.

El-Rufai, who left the APC for the SDP earlier in March, has been inviting stakeholders and chieftains of other opposition parties, urging them to join his new party and form a strong force against President Bola Tinubu’s administration ahead of the 2027 presidential election.

Recently, El-Rufai specifically invited Peter Obi of the Labour Party, Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party and President Tinubu’s estranged ally, Rauf Aregbesola, to dump their parties for the SDP.

Meanwhile, Sule Lamido, a former Jigawa State Governor and PDP chieftain, has rejected El-Rufai’s invitation to the SDP.

In a BBC Hausa interview on Sunday, March 16, 2025, Lamido described the former governor’s invitation as an insult, saying the PDP laid the foundation for El-Rufai’s political career.

Lamido also questioned El-Rufai’s leadership style and motive for dumping the APC for the SDP.

“Leadership is done with patience and vision, and doing things for the peace of the followers and the country as a whole,” Lamido said.

While restating his loyalty to the PDP, Lamido said the opposition party did nothing to warrant his defection.