Former Governor of Kaduna State, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, has opened up on the real reasons behind the political merger that ousted former President Goodluck Jonathan in the 2015 general elections.
Speaking on the growing notion that political coalitions tend to emerge only when a Southerner is in power, El-Rufai dismissed such claims, saying the 2015 alliance was born out of necessity, not ethnic or regional considerations.
The former minister explained that the coalition which led to the formation of the All Progressives Congress (APC) came as a response to what he described as poor governance under President Jonathan, as well as internal issues within the then ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
“I don’t care about that (ethnic concerns). The coalition in 2015 happened for two main reasons: First, there was a general sense that Jonathan wasn’t governing the country properly. Second, he had promised not to contest in 2015, which created serious problems within his own party,” El-Rufai said.
He added that opposition parties at the time, including the CPC, ANPP, and ACN, had no choice but to unite to survive.
“We realised that unless we joined forces, the PDP would continue to defeat us one by one in every election. So, it was an act of self-preservation. It had nothing to do with whether the president was from the North or South,” he explained.
El-Rufai, who was a key architect of the APC’s emergence and rise to power, is now a member of the Social Democratic Party (SDP). His defection from the APC has drawn mixed reactions, with some political observers suggesting it may be linked to President Bola Tinubu’s refusal to include him in his cabinet.
Now positioned as one of the major figures in the emerging opposition front, El-Rufai and his allies have vowed to challenge President Tinubu’s re-election bid in 2027, insisting that Nigerians deserve better leadership.
