Former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai has called on Nigerians to unite and vote out the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in the 2027 general elections, warning that the country’s survival is at risk if President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s government is allowed a second term.
Speaking on Saturday during a grassroots mobilisation rally in Sokoto for the African Democratic Congress (ADC), El-Rufai said he joined the growing opposition coalition out of a patriotic duty to halt what he described as the APC’s destructive leadership.
“I’m not in politics for personal gain,” he said. “I’m in it to serve. And when a government fails to serve the people, I believe it is my duty—as a senior citizen—to speak out, condemn it, and take steps to correct it.”
“A Fight for Our Lives”
El-Rufai, once a founding member and leading strategist of the APC, said he was alarmed by the direction of the Tinubu administration, which he accused of worsening Nigeria’s economic and social crisis.
“If we allow this government to continue beyond 2027, what remains of Nigeria’s social fabric may be destroyed,” he warned.
“This is not just politics. This is a fight for our lives as a nation.”
He said the ADC had been adopted as the unifying platform for a new opposition coalition aimed at offering Nigerians a credible alternative built on competence, equity, and national interest, rather than personal ambition.
From Founding APC Leader to Opposition Frontliner
El-Rufai’s political trajectory has taken sharp turns in recent years. Though he was one of the key architects of the APC’s rise to power in 2015, his relationship with the party soured after his ministerial nomination was rejected by the National Assembly in 2024, reportedly due to security concerns.
Following his departure from the APC, El-Rufai briefly joined the Social Democratic Party (SDP) in early 2025 but was expelled and banned for 30 years over allegations of forging party documents and other internal violations.
Now a leading figure in the ADC, El-Rufai has reemerged as a fierce critic of the Tinubu administration, accusing it of economic mismanagement, insecurity, and suppressing dissent.
Opposition Strategy for 2027
El-Rufai said the ADC-led coalition aims to mobilise Nigerians across all regions and political divides to prevent what he called “the total erosion of national cohesion.”
“We’ve come to Sokoto to kick off a nationwide movement against the APC—at all levels, including the federal government in Abuja,” he said.
He stressed that the focus is not just about defeating the APC at the ballot box, but about rebuilding Nigeria’s democratic values, protecting civil liberties, and reviving public trust in governance.
As the 2027 election cycle begins to take shape, El-Rufai’s emergence as a vocal opposition leader signals what may become one of the most heated political contests in Nigeria’s Fourth Republic. With the ADC now positioning itself as the main coalition platform, observers say the months ahead will be crucial in determining whether the fractured opposition can mount a unified and viable challenge to President Tinubu’s re-election bid.
