Former governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai, has formally joined the African Democratic Congress (ADC), months after briefly defecting to the Social Democratic Party (SDP).
El-Rufai completed his registration and received his ADC membership card at the Ungwan Sarki ward office in Kaduna. He arrived with a large group of supporters, including former aides and local government chairmen who accompanied him to the venue.
A key figure in the merger that produced the All Progressives Congress (APC) in 2015, El-Rufai said the ruling party has strayed far from the goals that brought its founding members together.
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Earlier this year, the former FCT minister joined the SDP but was later expelled and barred from associating with the party for 30 years.
In his resignation letter from the SDP, dated 26 November 2025, El-Rufai told party leaders that he was leaving to help build a stronger political coalition.
“I wish to notify you that I have resigned my membership of the SDP, effective 26 November 2025,” he wrote. “My focus remains on making my contributions to strengthening a unified democratic platform to offer a political alternative to the people of Nigeria.”
El-Rufai had earlier announced his departure from the APC on 10 March, saying the party’s direction no longer matched his values. In his resignation letter at the time, he accused APC leaders of abandoning the progressive principles that shaped the party’s formation.
“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 said.
He added that he had repeatedly warned the leadership about the party’s decline, but his concerns were ignored.
In May, the major opposition figures had agreed to adopt the ADC as the coalition platform for the 2027 general election. Members of the alliance include Atiku Abubakar, former vice-president; Peter Obi, Labour Party’s 2023 presidential candidate; Rotimi Amaechi, former minister of transport; and John Oyegun, former APC national chairman.
Also part of the coalition are Uche Secondus, former PDP national chairman; Sam Egwu, former governor of Ebonyi; Aminu Tambuwal, former governor of Sokoto; and Liyel Imoke, former governor of Cross River.
