Nasir El-Rufai Officially Joins ADC

Former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai has formally joined the African Democratic Congress, months after leaving the All Progressives Congress.

He registered with the ADC and collected his membership card at the party’s Unguwar Sarki Ward office in Kaduna. He was accompanied by loyal supporters, including former appointees and local government chairmen.

El-Rufai said he intends to use the ADC platform to challenge what he described as incompetent leadership. He addressed his supporters and party officials, including the ADC Vice Chairman (North West), Hon. Jafaru Sani, and the National Membership Secretary, Senator Sadiq Yar’adua.

“I’m a bona fide member of the African Democratic Congress. The SDP would not agree to open up to the coalition leadership because the government has bribed and compromised some of the leaders. Happily, the ADC agreed to the terms and conditions of the coalition leadership,” he said.

He explained that all pending by-elections and local contests that had delayed his full involvement were now completed. He thanked the organisers for putting the event together on short notice, noting that he was notified the previous evening to be present by 4 o’clock.

Speaking on the political situation in Kaduna, El-Rufai vowed to confront the APC leadership in the state, pointing to past achievements and the need for accountability.

“I want to call on all citizens of Kaduna State who are 18 years and above to come out en masse and register with the African Democratic Congress. By the grace of God, we are going to repeat what we did in 2015, when we got rid of the incompetent, thieving, stealing, and corrupt PDP administration,” he said.

He also criticised the current APC-led government in Kaduna, accusing it of failing to fulfill its promises and acting with impunity.

“We contributed to bringing them into office. We therefore have a duty to contribute to sending them back home before they go to prison,” he added.

His registration carried symbolic weight as he received membership number 000002, following the coalition’s Vice National Chairman (North West), who received 000001 as the first registrant in the state.

El-Rufai announced his departure from the APC on March 10, citing a growing divergence between his values and the party’s current direction. In his resignation letter, he condemned the APC leadership, accusing it of abandoning the progressive ideals on which the party was built.

“Developments in the last two years confirm that there is no desire on the part of those who currently control and run the APC to acknowledge, much less address, the unhealthy situation of the party,” he wrote.

He explained that he had repeatedly expressed concerns about the party’s trajectory over the past two years—both in private and public—but his warnings were overlooked. El-Rufai, who played a key role in the 2013 merger that created the APC, lamented that the party had strayed from its founding vision.