Presidency mocks El-Rufai over SDP expulsion drama

The Presidency has responded swiftly and with a touch of sarcasm to reports that a faction of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) expelled former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir Ahmad El‑Rufai, banning him from the party for 30 years over controversies surrounding his alleged membership.

Reacting to the news, President Bola Tinubu’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, took to X (formerly Twitter) with a cryptic jab: “Internally Displaced Again!”—a remark widely interpreted as mockery aimed at El-Rufai’s political setbacks.

El‑Rufai, who formally joined the SDP in March, was accused by the party’s National Working Committee (NWC) of forging membership documents, bypassing ward‑level registration, and pursuing anti‑party activities, prompting his expulsion and a 30‑year ban across all SDP activities.

Onanuga’s comment follows weeks of tension between El‑Rufai and both the SDP leadership and the ruling APC, as he has been actively involved in opposition coalition-building ahead of the 2027 elections.