Former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, has refuted claims suggesting he plans to leave the All Progressives Congress (APC). Speaking to reporters at the National Conference in Abuja on Tuesday, El-Rufai clarified that he had no intentions of quitting the party.
He explained that while he’s critical of the APC, his goal is to push the party toward positive change. “I am not leaving APC. I want them to change,” El-Rufai stated.
The former governor recently criticized the APC for straying from its founding principles, accusing the party of poor leadership and lack of internal democracy. “There’s no caucus, no NEC, no meetings. It feels like a zero-man show,” El-Rufai said.
At the National Conference, the discussion centered around strengthening Nigeria’s democracy. One of the key recommendations was for opposition parties to unite ahead of the 2027 elections. The conference also urged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to register new political parties as allowed by the constitution.
The two-day conference, organized by civil society groups like Centre LSD, CDD, and others, highlighted challenges like electoral malpractice, weak governance, and corruption that undermine Nigeria’s democracy. It recommended that opposition parties form a robust coalition to ensure checks and balances and that INEC adopt modern technology to improve electoral processes and transparency.
The conference also emphasized the need for the National Assembly to focus on electoral reforms, particularly addressing issues like the “winner-takes-all” system and the need to prioritize prosecuting electoral offenders to deter malpractice.
