Nigeria, March 14 -- Former President Muhammadu Buhari has reaffirmed his membership of the All Progressives Congress (APC), saying he would want to be addressed as a loyal member of the party.

Mr Buhari said this in a statement on X by his media aide, Garba Shehu, on Thursday.

The statement comes following the recent defection of the former governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai, from the APC to the Social Democratic Party (SDP).

Mr El-Rufai, a founding member of the APC, had said he consulted the former president on his plan to exit the ruling party.

"I consulted Buhari on Friday; I told him my reasons for leaving the APC and the responses of other people I consulted. (Mr) Buhari responded that he is now a statesman, but he knows ...