Former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai has confirmed his defection to the African Democratic Congress (ADC), outlining how his political alignment with former Labour Party presidential candidate Peter Obi was delayed only by ongoing by-elections.
El-Rufai explained that both he and Obi had asked the ADC coalition to permit them to finish the pending by-elections before formalising their membership. With those elections now concluded, he said there was no further justification to remain in their former parties — the SDP for him and the Labour Party for Obi.
According to the former governor, their coordinated move is driven by the shared goal of dislodging the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in the 2027 general elections.
“The same way we removed PDP in 2015 is how we will remove this incompetent APC in 2027,” El-Rufai said, framing the alliance as a strategic effort to replicate the coalition victory that propelled the APC to power a decade ago.
His announcement signals a significant restructuring within Nigeria’s opposition landscape and positions the ADC coalition as a potentially formidable force ahead of the 2027 polls.
