Former Governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai, has officially joined the African Democratic Congress, months after leaving the All Progressives Congress.
The former governor registered with the ADC and collected his membership card at the party office in Unguwar Sarki Ward, Kaduna State.
The former Minister of the Federal Capital Territory was accompanied by his loyal supporters, including former appointees and local government chairmen.
El-Rufai pledged to leverage the ADC platform to confront what he described as incompetent leadership in the state.
He stated this while speaking to his supporters and party officials, including the ADC Vice Chairman (North West), Hon. Jafaru Sani, and National Membership Secretary, Senator Sadiq Yar’adua.
“I’m a bona fide member of the African Democratic Congress.
“The SDP would not agree to open up to the coalition leadership because the government has bribed and compromised some of the leaders.
“Happily, the ADC agreed to the terms and conditions of the coalition leadership,” El-Rufai said.
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He stated that all pending by-elections and local contests, which had delayed his full commitment, had now concluded.
El-Rufai expressed gratitude to the organisers for arranging the event on short notice, saying that, “I was informed at 6 pm yesterday to be here at 4 o’clock. And I managed to get here.”
Turning to the political stakes, El-Rufai vowed to challenge APC leadership in Kaduna State, citing past successes and the need for accountability.
“I want to call on all citizens of Kaduna State of 18 years and above to come out en masse and register with the African Democratic Congress.
“By the grace of God, we are going to repeat what we did in 2015, when we got rid of the incompetent, thieving, stealing and corrupt PDP administration,” he said.
El-Rufai also accused the current APC-led government in Kaduna of failing to deliver on its promises and acting with impunity.
“We contributed to bringing them into office. We therefore have a duty to contribute to sending them back home before they go to prison,” El-Rufai declared.
The registration carried symbolic significance: El-Rufai received membership number 000002, following the coalition Vice National Chairman North West, who was assigned 000001 as the first registrant in the state.
Recall that on March 10, El-Rufai cited a widening disconnect between his personal values and the current direction of the APC as the primary reason for his defection.
In his resignation letter, El-Rufai openly criticised the APC’s leadership, accusing the party of abandoning the progressive ideals upon which it was founded.
“Developments in the last two years confirm that there is no desire on the part of those who currently control and run the APC to acknowledge, much less address, the unhealthy situation of the party,” he had stated.
He revealed that he had repeatedly raised concerns about the party’s trajectory, both privately and publicly, over the past two years, but his warnings were ignored by the APC leadership.
El-Rufai, who was instrumental in the 2013 merger of opposition parties that led to the formation of the APC, lamented that the party had lost its original vision.
