Nasir El-Rufai, the former governor of Kaduna State, has voiced serious worries about the All Progressives Congress’s (APC) current situation.
He disclosed that the APC has abandoned its core values and has abandoned him.
El-Rufai stated in an interview on Arise TV on Tuesday that although he is still politically active, he no longer acknowledges the party he helped found.
“I didn’t say I have no intentions of leaving the APC; I said that APC is my party—I founded it,” he clarified.
“But the APC has left me; I didn’t leave the APC. We founded this party based on certain values, but today, the party has moved away from them. I feel stranded.”
El-Rufai blasted the party for failing to maintain internal democracy, pointing out that important decision-making groups like the National Executive Committee (NEC) and the National Caucus had not met in more than two years.
“When the organs of the party meet, they provide feedback to the government on how it is aligning its policies with the party’s manifesto. That’s the purpose of these meetings. The APC constitution mandates that the NEC meets at least once every quarter, but for two years, no meeting has taken place,” he lamented.
The former minister disclosed that he had asked former APC national chairman Chief Bisi Akande, Adams Oshiomhole, John Odigie-Oyegun, and Abdullahi Adamu for clarification, but none of them were able to provide an explanation for the party’s current situation.
In addition to seeing Baba Akande, Oshiomhole, and Oyegun, I also traveled to Keffi yesterday to see Abdullahi Adamu. I posed the same query to them: “What is going on with our party?” However, since the party hasn’t met in two years, no one has answers. No talks have taken place,” El-Rufai revealed.
The former governor maintained that he was not prepared to leave politics, despite his reservations.
“I will remain in politics for life, but that doesn’t mean I will keep contesting elections. I believe I have a role to play in influencing what happens in our party so that we have better candidates and better governors,” he said.
However, El-Rufai would not rule out running for office on a different platform in the event that the APC does not return to its original principles.
“I might eventually need to look for another platform to pursue those progressive values if I can’t find them in the APC. However, I continue to hope that the party will change its direction,” he said.
El-Rufai stated that he anticipates the leadership of the APC to consider the reasons behind the party’s departure from its fundamental ideals as it gets ready to host a National Caucus and NEC meeting.
