By Ghazali Ibrahim
Former Kaduna State governor Nasir El-Rufai has sounded a stark warning about Nigeria’s political future, declaring that the country’s survival is at stake if the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) retains power in the 2027 general elections.
Speaking on Saturday, August 2, at a grassroots mobilisation rally in Sokoto organised by the opposition coalition led by the African Democratic Congress (ADC), El-Rufai vowed to campaign nationwide against the APC, the party he helped found.
“I’m not in politics to get anything for myself. I’m in politics to serve,” El-Rufai said.
“When the government does not serve the people, it is my duty as a senior citizen to come out and condemn it and take steps to reverse the situation.”
The former APC chieftain accused the party of incompetence and warned that a second term for the current administration would plunge Nigeria into deeper crisis.
“I believe that if we allow this party and the government to continue for a second term in office, what remains of Nigeria’s social capital will be destroyed, and we may not have a country at all. This is a fight for our lives,” he declared.
El-Rufai said the Sokoto rally marked the beginning of a nationwide campaign to mobilise Nigerians against the APC ahead of the polls.
“We are in Sokoto to begin the process of mobilising Nigerians against the APC government anywhere and the federal government in Abuja,” he added.
Once a powerful figure within the APC and a close ally of President Bola Tinubu, El-Rufai dramatically exited the party in March 2025 after the Senate refused to confirm his ministerial nomination over reported security concerns.
He briefly joined the Social Democratic Party (SDP) before being expelled and handed a 30-year ban following allegations of forgery of membership documents.
Now a key player within the ADC-led opposition coalition, El-Rufai has aligned himself with other prominent political figures in a bid to unseat the APC in 2027.
His defection and fierce criticism mark a sharp turn from his previous role as one of the ruling party’s architects, signalling growing fractures within Nigeria’s political landscape as the next general elections approach.
