The National Working Committee (NWC) of Social Democratic Party, SDP has expelled former Governor of Kaduna State, Mallam Nasir el-Rufai for 30 years.
The decision was confirmed in a statement by the Spokesman of SDP, Ambassador Araba Rufus Aiyenigba in Abuja on Monday, declaring him “ineligible to associate with the party in any capacity for the next 30 years”.
His expulsion came just months after he left the ruling APC. He resigned from the All Progressives Congress earlier in 2025 and publicly announced he was joining the SDP.
Only to be expelled on July 28, 2025, when the Social Democratic Party (SDP) publicly announced that it had sent Mallam Nasir el-Rufai away and banned him from any party role for 30 years.
The SDP statement laid out several allegations against el-Rufai, explaining why the extraordinary sanction was applied Including false membership claims.
“The party said el-Rufai never registered with the SDP at his ward level as required by the party’s constitution, yet falsely declared on social media that he had joined the party”.
“In other words, he publicly claimed SDP membership but had not actually completed the basic registration process”.
The statement further stated, the party also accused him of forging membership documents and staging photo‐opportunities to bolster his claim. For instance, SDP noted that el-Rufai “further forged documents claiming membership and took photo opportunities with suspended party leaders to reinforce this falsehood.
“SDP accused him of “falsely parading himself as a party member, manipulating internal processes” and of “forging the party’s documents and self-registering with the membership number 001”. (He was even said to have posed as “member #1” in a Kaduna ward register without authorization.)
Others are, Internal Subversion: SDP officials charged that el-Rufai’s behavior amounted to gross indiscipline and an attempt to hijack the party.
The NWC statement complained that his conduct “fueled internal divisions” and was aimed at destabilizing the SDP.
In particular, the party noted that after publicly affiliating himself with the opposition’s African Democratic Congress (ADC), el-Rufai tried to drag the SDP into that coalition “through the back door” without party approval.
The statement said he had “publicly declared for the ADC” and was aligning with it contrary to SDP principles, as well as sponsoring an unauthorized party meetings and otherwise acting against party rules, prompting the NWC to conclude that his actions showed “total disregard for due process”, justifying his expulsion. The party framed this as enforcing its constitution and preserving internal democracy.
As a consequence of these findings, SDP decreed that el-Rufai be “banished and banned” from the party for 30 years. The official statement explicitly forbids him from “applying for membership, identifying with the name, insignia, logo, symbol, mark or any activities” of the SDP for 30 years, effective immediately.
The ban means he cannot use the party’s name or participate in any SDP affairs until July 28, 2055. The SDP further asked the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and others to note that el-Rufai is “not a member of the SDP” and is not authorized to act for the party.
