Former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai has claimed that the All Progressives Congress (APC) lacks internal democracy and functioning party structures.
He termed the country’s government and opposition as a “national emergency.”
El-Rufai was speaking at a national conference in Abuja about strengthening Nigeria’s democracy.
El-Rufai, who shared the report on his X handle on Tuesday, labelled the country’s governance and opposition as a “national emergency,” accusing the APC of losing its core ideals and creating weak leadership.
“I no longer recognise the APC. There has been no meeting of any party institution in two years, including the caucus and NEC. You don’t even know if it’s a one-man performance or a zero-man show.”
The former governor criticized the quality of leadership arising from political parties, blaming it on inexperienced delegates.
“You can’t afford to have illiterates, semi-literates, and cunning people as leaders. This is why we have such bad leadership today,” he explained.
El-Rufai urged political parties to set greater standards for candidates and delegates, stating that the constitution’s basic requirement of a secondary school diploma should not be enough for party nominations.
El-Rufai stated the APC was founded to battle corruption, rebuild the economy, and improve security. He said these aims have been abandoned.
“The problems that led to the creation of the APC remain unresolved, but I no longer believe the APC is interested in addressing them. The distance between me and the party is widening,” he revealed.
El-Rufai also urged opposition parties to unite and form a broad coalition to challenge the ruling party and protect democracy.
“There are internal mercenaries in the PDP, hired and motivated to destroy the party. The Labour Party is also facing similar issues. Peter Obi himself told me, ‘I don’t know what’s happening in the party I contested with.’
“There seems to be a deliberate project to destroy opposition parties,” he alleged.
Citing a poll that revealed 75% of registered voters might abstain from the 2027 elections, El-Rufai warned of an impending crisis.
“This is dangerous. For those of us who lived half our lives under military rule, we know what it is. We don’t want a military rule, but we also don’t want civilians behaving like the military in their babbar riga and suits,” he said.
He appealed to opposition parties to set aside their differences and form a united front to save democracy.
