El-Rufai’s Visit To The Party Secretariat Has Resulted In A Shift In Dynamics, Says SDP Chairman Gabam

Shehu Gabam, the National Chairman of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), has stated that the recent visit of Nasir El-Rufai, the former governor of Kaduna State, to the party’s national secretariat in Abuja is a sign of evolving dynamics and interests.

Recall that the former Kaduna State governor recently visited the national secretariat of the party, causing unease within the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, and igniting intense political discussions.

Gabam, who disclosed this in an interview on TVC’s programme, Politics on Sunday, also said the visit was based on the relationship he shared with the former governor, adding that it was unrelated to the speculations by a public affairs analyst, Daniel Bwala.

He said: “Sometimes, when you hear some of these debates in public space, you wonder where the brouhaha is coming from. What is the genesis of it? First and foremost, my relationship with Mallam Nasir El-Rufai predates 1999.

”I knew him long before then. We have been close and come to the SDP secretariat, I don’t know why it is so special that people seek to misinterpret or interpret the way it suits them.

“I’m not worried about Bwala’s tweet because he is very, very close to me. At one point, he ran for the seat of the House of Reps under SDP. And when he was the spokesman of Atiku, we always communicated and we always shared some ideas.

”But, in this case, he has not called me to find out the veracity of what he’s trying to put out or otherwise. Therefore, I don’t want to comment on it.

“People need to understand that the dynamics are shifting, a lot of interests are keying again and, of course, that will not stop people from discussing. Some of us are career politicians, we did not jump from whatever it is into politics.

”We understand the difference between relationships and political interests. We value relationships more than political interests, political interests can shift but relationships remain.

“So, what we are trying to do is not to be like an ordinary, greedy politician who believes that if I have an issue with you and I visited you, and then I become his enemy, I wasn’t trained that way. I was trained as a well established politician who is open to a lot of conversations.”