Former governorship candidates of the People’s Redemption Party (PRP) in the 2023 general elections have defected to the Social Democratic Party (SDP).

Mallam Hayatuddeen Lawal Makarfi, the chairman of the PRP gubernatorial candidates’ forum has described the defection as a historic move that is targeted at rescuing Nigeria from what he termed its ‘killers.’

The wholesale move to the SDP comes after former Kaduna State governor, Nasir El-Rufai, left the All Progressives Congress (APC).

“We appreciate the warm gesture of the most influential political leader of today, whose visionary and unwavering leadership qualities have been seen and felt across the country. He is facing persecution because he refuses to compromise standards due to his fear of God and love for Nigeria,” Makarfi said.

Makarfi, who was PRP’s governorship candidate for Kaduna state in the last election, added that Nigerians were gravitating towards the SDP because they believed in its leadership.

“Today, we stand at a crossroads of principle and action. With profound gratitude to the PRP, the party that nurtured our political consciousness, we, the members of the PRP Gubernatorial Candidates Forum, formally join the SDP.

“This is not merely a defection; it is a strategic realignment of progressive forces to rescue Nigeria from failed leadership. We come not as refugees, but as comrades-in-arms, united by the urgency to rebuild our nation,” he said.

Makarfi lamented the state of the country, saying Nigeria is “bleeding” due to soaring poverty and collapsing institutions, while the APC and PDP have turned governance into “a cabal of shared incompetence.”