Senator Ahmed Aliyu Wadada, who represents Nasarawa West at the Senate, has announced plans to quit Social Democratic Party (SDP), citing irreconcilable differences with some recent entrants into the party, particularly former Kaduna State Governor, Mallam Nasir el-Rufai.

In an interview with journalists in Keffi on Sunday, Wadada said while el-Rufai was his elder brother, he could not share the same political platform with someone whose principles he could no longer respect.

“Even though Mallam el-Rufai is my elder brother, I don’t think I can stay with him in the SDP because he is not a principled politician,” Wadada stated.

The senator criticised el-Rufai’s political realignment, recalling his strong support for power rotation to the South and his key role in President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s emergence as the APC presidential candidate and as the eventual winner.

Wadada questioned what had changed between then and now to warrant el-Rufai’s defection to the SDP, especially following his failure to secure a ministerial appointment.

Wadada described the move as self-serving and inconsistent with the values he believed a public servant should uphold.

He praised Senator Abdullahi Adamu as a model of consistency and integrity, citing Adamu’s support for Senator Ahmad Lawan during the APC primaries and his continued loyalty to the APC even after Lawan’s loss.

“That’s the kind of politics I respect: principled, not opportunistic,” he said.

Wadada acknowledged the current economic hardships stemming from the removal of fuel subsidies, but expressed hope, pointing out that state governments now had more resources for development.