By Jude Opara
Former Kaduna Governor, Nasir el-Rufai has stated that the gap between him and the All Progressives Congress (APC) is growing wider.
Speaking at a national conference on strengthening democracy in Nigeria in Abuja on Monday, el-Rufai, a prominent figure in the APC, criticized the party for allegedly deviating from its foundational principles and fostering ineffective leadership.
The former Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) expressed disappointment that party organs had not convened in two years, accusing the leadership of running the APC like a “one-man show.”
“I am a founding member of the APC, but frankly, I no longer recognize the party. No party organ has met in two years—no caucus, no NEC, nothing. I don’t even know if it’s a one-man show. It’s a zero-man show,” he remarked.
He continued, “Although I’m a founding member, the party has left me behind. We wanted to build a progressive party that would fight corruption, revive the economy, and restore security for Nigerians. That was our goal. But where is the APC now? I no longer recognize it. It’s left me behind. I still believe the primary purpose of political engagement in Nigeria remains to fix the economy, restore security, and fight corruption. But those issues are still unresolved.”
El-Rufai further argued, “You cannot have illiterates, semi-illiterates, and manipulative people as leaders. That’s why we end up with the poor leadership we have today.”
He added that while the challenges that led to the creation of the APC persist, he no longer believes the party is committed to addressing them. “The distance between me and the party is widening,” he said.
El-Rufai also called for opposition parties to unite and form a strong coalition to hold the ruling party accountable.
He mentioned the internal challenges within opposition parties, saying, “There are mercenaries within the PDP, hired and motivated to destroy the party. The Labour Party is facing similar issues. Peter Obi himself told me, ‘I don’t know what’s happening in the party I contested for president.’ It seems there is a deliberate effort to undermine opposition parties.”
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