El-Rufai: Why APC left me

Former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, has expressed deep concerns over the state of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

He revealed that the APC has left him and that the party has abandoned its founding principles.

Speaking during an interview on Arise TV on Tuesday, El-Rufai said while he remains politically active, he no longer recognizes the party he helped establish.

“I didn’t say I have no intentions of leaving the APC; I said that APC is my party—I founded it,” he clarified.

“But the APC has left me; I didn’t leave the APC. We founded this party based on certain values, but today, the party has moved away from them. I feel stranded.”

El-Rufai criticized the party’s failure to uphold internal democracy, pointing out that key decision-making bodies such as the National Caucus and the National Executive Committee (NEC) had not convened in over two years.

“When the organs of the party meet, they provide feedback to the government on how it is aligning its policies with the party’s manifesto. That’s the purpose of these meetings. The APC constitution mandates that the NEC meets at least once every quarter, but for two years, no meeting has taken place,” he lamented.

The former minister revealed that he had sought clarity from previous APC national chairmen, including Chief Bisi Akande, Adams Oshiomhole, John Odigie-Oyegun, and Abdullahi Adamu, but none could explain the party’s current state.

“I have visited all of them, Baba Akande, Oshiomhole, Oyegun, and just yesterday, I went to Keffi to see Abdullahi Adamu. I asked them the same question: ‘What is happening to our party?’ But nobody has answers because the party has not met for two years. There have been no conversations,” El-Rufai disclosed.

Despite his concerns, the former governor insisted he was not ready to retire from politics.

“I will remain in politics for life, but that doesn’t mean I will keep contesting elections. I believe I have a role to play in influencing what happens in our party so that we have better candidates and better governors,” he said.

El-Rufai, however, did not rule out the possibility of seeking another political platform if the APC fails to realign with its founding ideals.

“If I can’t find those progressive values in APC, sooner or later, I may have to find another platform to pursue them. But I still hope the party will correct its course,” he stated.

As the APC prepares to hold a National Caucus and NEC meeting, El-Rufai said he expects the leadership to reflect on why the party has deviated from its core principles.