I NO LONGER RECOGNIZE THE APC ; I DON'T BELIEVE MY PARTY WANTS TO TACKLE NIGERIA'S CHALLENGES, SAYS FORMER KADUNA GOVERNOR EL-RUFAI. (PHOTO).

 I No Longer Recognize The APC; I Don't Believe My Party Wants To Tackle Nigeria's Challenges, Says Former Kaduna Governor El-Rufai

Former Kaduna State governor and founding member of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Nasir El-Rufai, has expressed deep concerns over the capacity of the ruling APC and President Bola Tinubu's administration to address the nation’s challenges.

Speaking at a conference on strengthening democracy in Nigeria, held in Abuja on Monday, El-Rufai criticised the party's leadership and accused the administration of targeting opposition parties for destruction.

Addressing participants at the event organized by several pro-democracy organizations, including the African Centre for Leadership, Strategy and Development and the Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD), El-Rufai lamented the decline in the APC's internal democracy, Daily Nigerian reports.

“I no longer recognise the APC. No party organ of the APC has met for the past two years. No caucus, no NEC (National Executive Council), nothing. You don’t even know if it is a one-man show; it is a zero-man show,” he said.

El-Rufai noted that the APC had veered away from its founding ideals of tackling corruption, improving the economy, and restoring security.

“The problems are still there. However, I no longer believe that my party believes in confronting those problems,” he added.

El-Rufai also raised concerns about the state of opposition parties in the country, accusing the APC-led administration of deliberately undermining them.

“The way and manner opposition political parties are being targeted for destruction and the style and quality of governance in this country today is a national emergency,” he said.

He warned that such actions could threaten Nigeria's democracy, referencing a recent poll that revealed 75% of registered voters do not plan to participate in the 2027 elections.

“This is very dangerous, and I believe every voice must rise to fight for this democracy,” he said.

El-Rufai called for collective action to address the situation, urging Nigerians to resist any attempt to return to authoritarianism.

“For those of us in our 60s, we lived half our lives under military rule. We know what it is, and we don’t want a military rule, but we also don’t want civilians behaving like the military in their babariga (traditional Nigerian garment, often worn by men) and suits. So, this is a national emergency,” he said.

The former governor expressed concern over the perceived targeting of opposition parties in Nigeria, particularly the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

“There are internal mercenaries within the PDP who have been hired, paid, or otherwise influenced to destroy the party,” he said.

He warned that the PDP was heading for collapse, describing the situation as “most unfortunate.”

El-Rufai also claimed that the Labour Party was facing similar challenges. He referred to a conversation with Peter Obi, who reportedly expressed confusion over the state of his party, saying, “I don’t know what is happening in the party that I contested for president.”

According to El-Rufai, “there seems to be a coordinated effort to dismantle all opposition political parties.”

He stressed the need for opposition groups to set aside their differences and unite under a broad coalition to counter these threats.

“We must come together, create a unified platform, and take action before the situation deteriorates further,” he said.