Social Democratic Party Expels Nasir El-Rufai Over Membership Irregularities and Alleged Breach of Party Discipline

Prince Adewole Adebayo explains why the SDP expelled Nasir El-Rufai, citing registration irregularities and a refusal to follow the party's grassroots protocols.

By: AXL Media

Published: Mar 11, 2026, 7:03 AM EDT

Source: The information in this article was sourced from Independent Nigeria

Disciplinary Action Against High Profile Political Figure

The Social Democratic Party (SDP) has officially clarified the circumstances surrounding the expulsion of Nasir El-Rufai, the former governor of Kaduna State, citing a fundamental disregard for party protocols. According to Prince Adewole Adebayo, the party’s 2023 presidential standard-bearer, the friction began when El-Rufai publicly announced his membership before a formal record existed at the local level. Officials at the ward and state levels reportedly found no evidence of his registration, sparking an internal investigation into how the former governor obtained his credentials. The party maintains that regardless of a candidate's national stature, adherence to the grassroots registration process is a non-negotiable requirement for all members.

Allegations of Parallel Registration and Procedural Breaches

Internal investigations by the SDP national leadership revealed that El-Rufai had allegedly bypassed established structures to secure a membership card independently. Adebayo asserted that the former governor created a separate register rather than integrating into the existing party framework, a move viewed by the leadership as an attempt to undermine internal discipline. Despite initial efforts to encourage the former governor to regularize his status through the appropriate ward channels, the situation reportedly worsened as he began acting in an official capacity. This included holding high-level meetings and making public statements that had not been cleared by the party’s authorized communications organs.

Conflict Over Proposed Political Coalitions

The tension between the party leadership and the former governor further escalated due to disagreements over the admission of a new political coalition. Adebayo claimed that El-Rufai pushed for the inclusion of a broad group of politicians without subjecting them to the party’s mandatory internal screening processes. This move was interpreted as an attempt to reshape the party’s identity without following the democratic consensus of the existing executive body. By allegedly ignoring repeated warnings to respect the party’s constitution and rules of engagement, the leadership concluded that El-Rufai’s continued presence was incompatible with the SDP’s organizational goals, leading to the final decision to expel him.