The Social Democratic Party (SDP) has offered fresh insight into its decision to expel and impose a 30-year ban on former Kaduna State governor, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, citing allegations of forgery and misrepresentation.
In a statement released by the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Hon. Araba Rufus Aiyenigba, the SDP’s National Working Committee (NWC) firmly denied El-Rufai’s affiliation with the party, stressing that he was never officially registered as a member at the ward level — a constitutional prerequisite for membership validation.
The party clarified that although El-Rufai publicly claimed to be a member of the SDP, particularly through his social media activities, his name was conspicuously absent from all formal registration records maintained by the party’s ward, state, and national structures.
According to the NWC, the controversy stemmed from El-Rufai’s alleged self-styled registration, which the party described as “fraudulent and illegal.” Instead of undergoing the proper procedure by registering with the ward executives of Unguwar Sarki Ward in Kaduna North Local Government Area, the former governor allegedly bypassed the process altogether.
The statement further accused El-Rufai of forging his SDP membership credentials by unilaterally assigning himself the symbolic registration number “001” — a position typically reserved for the first and duly registered member of the ward. The party said this act was both misleading and disrespectful to existing members who had joined the SDP through legitimate means.
“Upon thorough investigation, we discovered that Mallam Nasir El-Rufai never followed the proper channel to become a member of our great party,” Aiyenigba stated. “Rather than register in accordance with party guidelines, he forged his own documents and arrogated to himself the position of number 001 in the SDP membership register for Unguwar Sarki Ward. This brazen act stands in complete contradiction to all credible and updated records in our possession.”
The party emphasized that such conduct undermines the values of transparency and integrity which the SDP upholds, adding that the decision to expel and ban El-Rufai for 30 years was taken in line with the party’s constitution and disciplinary procedures.
While El-Rufai is yet to publicly respond to the allegations or the sanction, the development has stirred reactions across the political space, raising questions about due process, party discipline, and the growing trend of high-profile political crossovers without proper documentation.
The SDP reaffirmed its commitment to internal democracy and warned that it would not tolerate attempts to undermine its credibility or manipulate its internal processes for personal or political gain.
