•Nasir El-Rufai
Former Kaduna State governor, Nasir El-Rufai, has revealed that opposition leaders are registering a new political party ahead of the 2027 general election due to what he described as the “infiltration” of existing parties by government-backed elements.
Speaking yesterday during an interview on Arise TV, El-Rufai said the application to register the All Democratic Alliance (ADA) with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) was a strategic alternative to adopting an existing party as the coalition’s platform to challenge President Bola Tinubu at the polls.
“You don’t go to war with just one plan. Very early in our discussions, coalition leaders agreed we would pursue both options—identify an existing party that suits us all and simultaneously explore registering a new one,” he said.
“A brand-new party doesn’t come with legacy issues or infiltrations. What this government has done is inject ‘viruses’ into opposition parties—financing factions and creating internal crises. That’s what is happening in the Labour Party, PDP, and NNPP. So, many leaders believe the best way to avoid that is to start afresh,” he added.
El-Rufai explained that the decision to pursue the ADA was aimed squarely at unseating President Tinubu in 2027. He also expressed regret for supporting Tinubu in the 2023 election.
Having recently shifted his political allegiance from the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) to the Social Democratic Party (SDP), El-Rufai accused the Tinubu administration of failure in key areas, including security and the economy.
He recalled how he had been one of Tinubu’s strongest backers in the lead-up to the 2023 vote, especially when the issue of zoning between the North and South created tensions within the APC.
After Tinubu’s inauguration on May 29, 2023, El-Rufai was nominated to join the federal cabinet, but the Senate declined to confirm his appointment, reportedly due to an adverse security report from the Department of State Services (DSS).
Subsequently, he joined the SDP and vowed to work with others to unseat Tinubu.
Last week, El-Rufai, alongside former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and other opposition leaders, applied to register the All Democratic Alliance as a new political party.
Speaking during the interview, El-Rufai insisted that President Tinubu should not be allowed a second term.
How we arrived at ADA
El-Rufai said the decision to form ADA was a collective resolution by members of the opposition coalition.
“In fact, within the coalition, three different groups had already attempted to register parties. We asked them to harmonise—one name, one logo, one constitution. They did, and the application was submitted,” he said.
On his current affiliation with the Social Democratic Party (SDP), El-Rufai explained that his membership was always meant to be transitional, pending the outcome of coalition deliberations.
“When I joined the SDP, I stated clearly that I was there pending a broader coalition decision,” he said. “Just like Atiku is still in the PDP and Peter Obi hasn’t left the Labour Party. If we reach a consensus on a new platform, we will all leave our current parties and unite.”
While describing the SDP as a strong alternative, he said the broader goal of unity supersedes individual party loyalty.
“Personally, I believe the SDP is the best platform — it has history, legacy, and emotional value. But this is a collective decision. I will do whatever it takes to ensure unity. What matters is not the party’s name, but the consensus. Nigerians are tired of the APC,” he said.
El-Rufai also raised concerns that the current administration alleged attempts to frustrate efforts to register a viable opposition.
“We suspect the current administration will block any real opposition. Still, we’re proceeding to expose just how compromised INEC is and to challenge the government’s interference,” he said.
Asked whether it would be fair to expect INEC to prioritise the registration of ADA over more than 100 other pending applications, El-Rufai said, “That’s not how it works. This isn’t a queue. INEC can assign teams to handle multiple applications simultaneously. The requirements are straightforward and have been upheld by the Supreme Court. INEC is just making excuses.
“The law is clear: if they don’t respond within the stipulated timeframe, the party is deemed registered. INEC is treading a narrow path and has a chance to prove its independence.”
‘Tinubu’ll destroy Nigeria if not removed’
Speaking on his role in bringing Tinubu to power, El-Rufai said he now believes the country is heading towards destruction if the current administration is allowed to remain beyond 2027.
Describing Tinubu’s government as “a tragedy” that must be halted to save the country, El-Rufai declared, “I just feel that having contributed to bringing about this tragedy to Nigeria — by contributing to the emergence of Bola Tinubu as president—let me also contribute towards removing this… that I believe will destroy Nigeria if left unchecked.”
He lamented that Nigerians were suffering under the very administration he helped to install.
“Nigerians are tired of the APC. We know that,” he said.
“In many parts of the country, particularly in the Southeast and the North, President Tinubu has a 91 percent disapproval rate. Even in Lagos, it’s 78 percent. That’s based on a scientific poll. In the Southwest, he is doing a bit better in states like Ondo and Ekiti than the 78 percent. The guy is gone. He has performed miserably. The economy has tanked. The security architecture has failed. There are no clear trade or investment policies. Everything is going wrong. They’re generating massive revenue, but no one knows where it’s going,” El-Rufai said.
Asked why he supported Tinubu in the 2023 election, El-Rufai explained that after it was resolved that power should return to the South following eight years of Northern presidency, Tinubu’s track record in Lagos was the only viable reference.
“Tinubu ran an inclusive government in Lagos. He did a decent job in governing Lagos. That’s the only thing we knew about him as far as governance is concerned. If he could do half of that in Nigeria, we felt the nation would move forward,” he said.
“When we supported Tinubu for president, we were under the impression that he was going to do better.”
El-Rufai accused the administration of lacking transparency and direction in the use of public resources.
“They are raising a lot of revenue, but we don’t know where the revenues are going. Major infrastructure is all under the federal government. Yes, the states are getting more revenue in terms of naira, but where are the projects?
“President Tinubu went to Kaduna last week to commission projects—90 percent of those were my projects, which I had already taken to over 90 percent completion. No new projects have been initiated and completed in the two years this administration has been in office, even though they have received far more money.
“The story is the same in most states. Some governors are trying hard, but frankly, most are doing very little with those resources. And federal oversight is very weak, because the president wants all the governors to be in the APC,” he said.
Asked whether it was fair to pass such a scathing judgement on an administration barely two years in office, he responded, “He (Tinubu) judged others on less. There’s an audit trail of his promises and tweets to hold him accountable. Security is a federal responsibility, yet 2.2 million Nigerians were abducted and 615,000 killed last year, despite N100 billion monthly deductions for security without appropriation, so the entire deduction is unconstitutional and is an impeachable offence. But it has been going on for more than 15 months the last time I checked. So where has that N1.5 trillion gone? What is it being used for? Why is the security situation just getting worse? Why is the government asking communities to protect themselves? President Tinubu’s government has failed woefully.”
On suggestions that his criticisms may be motivated by bitterness over being dropped as a ministerial nominee, El-Rufai responded: “Perhaps. But I don’t care. Every morning, I see this administration inflicting pain and bungling basic governance, and I thank God I’m not part of it. I never sought a ministerial post. Tinubu begged me to serve, and I paused my plans. I’m relieved I don’t have to explain blackouts, economic collapse, or the plunging naira.
“Tinubu begged me publicly — there are videos—to serve in his cabinet. He asked me to change my personal life plans. So, for those who say I’m bitter because he dropped me—how can I be angry about something I never asked for?”
Turning his criticism to the president’s cabinet, El-Rufai described it as “a joke.”
“It’s the largest cabinet in Nigeria’s history. Maybe five ministers can actually be called ministers,” he said. “Who is the Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala in that cabinet? Who is the Obiageli Ezekwesili? There’s just no quality. As I said, apart from about five, the rest are not serious.”
He went further, describing Tinubu’s administration as a “collection of urban bandits” on a mission to destroy the nation.
“Everybody is saying we have a problem. This country is targeted for destruction by a collection of urban bandits. Let’s come together, send them back home, and put this country back on track,” he urged.
Despite being instrumental in Tinubu’s emergence as president, El-Rufai said Nigerians should not rely on his judgement in 2027.
“You don’t have to trust me. Don’t trust what I say. It looks like I’m not very good at picking successful presidents,” he said, urging citizens to let their lives experiences guide their choices at the next general election.
On whether he intends to run for president in 2027, El-Rufai said, “I haven’t decided. My priority is improving Nigeria’s governance. If we get that right, I will thrive in any role— or none. I have a profession and a means outside politics.
“What matters most is electing someone capable of defeating Tinubu’s engineered path to re-election. I’ve crunched the numbers: Tinubu has no pathway to victory and might even finish third.”
Wrong people leading the coalition – Hakeem Baba-Ahmed
Meanwhile, former spokesperson of the Northern Elders Forum (NEF), Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, has expressed strong reservations about the ongoing coalition efforts to unseat the APC, warning that the political actors driving the process are unfit to lead any credible opposition.
Baba-Ahmed, who recently resigned as Special Adviser on Political Matters to the President in the Office of the Vice President and has since become a vocal critic of the Tinubu administration, said, “The basic problem is that the wrong people are involved in designing an opposition to the APC. And they shouldn’t be the ones doing this.”
He noted that the coalition was already fractured even before it formally took off, accusing its promoters of being more interested in self-positioning than in building a genuine alternative for Nigerians.
“It’s a coalition of a few politicians who hope that they can arrive at some understanding and then say, ‘Okay, fellow Nigerians, we’ve agreed. This one will be this, and that one will be that, and you can now come in.’ It’s the wrong way to go about it,” he said.
According to him, many of the key figures behind the new political front are simply recycling themselves rather than creating space for fresh leadership.
“People who have been vice presidents and contested three times, people who have served as governors and ministers—these are not the people who should be saying, ‘Trust us again to solve the problems the APC is creating,’” he said.
“They (the public) don’t believe you actually represent a different future from this government. You just want to replace President Tinubu. And if that’s the case, why haven’t you put forward your ideas yet? The good thing is that so many Nigerians can see through them.” he added.
Baba-Ahmed also questioned the viability of registering a new political party under the current political climate, arguing that the INEC has not approved any new party for years.
“Unless a miracle happens, INEC hasn’t registered any party for a long time. I don’t know how it will look if INEC suddenly singles out an application just because it has the names of prominent politicians. Nigerians won’t be impressed,” he said.
He lamented the absence of younger Nigerians in the opposition’s political discourse and called for a generational and ideological reset.
“Where is the youth? Where is the energy? Where is the vision? Where is the concern that violence and poverty are destroying this country?” he asked.
Baba-Ahmed warned that time is running out for the opposition, and unless a meaningful course correction is made, the current path could hand another electoral victory to the APC in 2027.
