Former Kaduna state governor Nasir El-Rufai has criticised the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), accusing the party of straying from its founding ideals and fostering poor leadership.
While addressing a national conference in Abuja on strengthening democracy in Nigeria, El-Rufai labelled the state of governance and opposition in the country as a “national emergency.”
El-Rufai, who shared the report on his X handle on Tuesday, expressed concern over the absence of internal democracy and active party structures within the APC. He stated, “I no longer recognise the APC. No party organ has met in two years—no caucus, no NEC, nothing. You don’t even know if it is a one-man show; it’s a zero-man show.”
The ex-governor condemned the quality of leadership emerging from political parties, blaming it on unqualified delegates. He remarked, “You cannot afford to have illiterates, semi-illiterates, and cunning people as your leaders. This is why we end up with the poor leadership we have today.”
El-Rufai urged political parties to raise standards for candidates and delegates, emphasising that the constitution’s minimum requirement of a secondary school certificate should not be enough for nominations, while lamenting that the APC’s founding goals of combating corruption, rebuilding the economy, and enhancing security have been abandoned.
“The problems that led to the creation of the APC remain unresolved, but I no longer believe the APC is interested in addressing them. The distance between me and the party is widening.
“There are internal mercenaries in the PDP, hired and motivated to destroy the party. The Labour Party is also facing similar issues. Peter Obi himself told me, ‘I don’t know what’s happening in the party I contested with.’
“There seems to be a deliberate project to destroy opposition parties,” he alleged.
Citing a poll that showed 75% of registered voters might abstain from the 2027 elections, El-Rufai warned of a potential crisis.
“This is dangerous. For those of us who lived half our lives under military rule, we know what it is. We don’t want a military rule, but we also don’t want civilians behaving like the military in their babbar riga and suits.
“This is a national emergency, and we must act before history repeats itself,” he added.
Reacting to El-Rufai’s post, the special adviser on public communications and media, Daniel Bwala, questioned the former governor’s stance, asking if he would have held the same position had he remained in the government or cabinet.
“My Senior brother, if you were to be in the government and cabinet, would you have held and expressed the same position? History is replete with examples. It is a government you participated in its formation, that you now want to unseat. Haba Mallam, a Ji soron Allah mana,” Bwala stated.
