Former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai on Thursday officially registered as a member of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), marking what he described as the start of a coordinated political effort to dislodge the ruling All Progressives Congress in Kaduna State ahead of the 2027 elections.
El-Rufai completed his registration at the ADC’s Unguwar Sarki office in Kaduna North, where he was welcomed by senior party officials, including the ADC Vice Chairman (North-West), Jafaru Sani, and the National Membership Secretary, Senator Sadiq Yar’adua.
After receiving his membership card, he announced, “I am now a full member of the African Democratic Congress. This is my political home, and this is the platform through which we will rescue Kaduna State from failed leadership.”
Party officials said he was issued membership number 000002, noting that 000001 had been assigned to the coalition’s Vice National Chairman (North-West), a symbolic move representing the coalition’s growing influence in the ADC.
El-Rufai, who briefly joined the Social Democratic Party in March 2025 after leaving the APC, said the SDP was meant to serve as the foundation of a broad opposition coalition but claimed it became compromised by “government-backed interference.”
“The SDP refused to open up to the coalition leadership because some leaders had been bribed and compromised,” he alleged. “Once that door closed, we were forced to take a new direction.”
He said the coalition concluded negotiations with the ADC on July 2, after earlier delays caused by local and by-elections.
Expressing appreciation for the quick coordination of his registration, he noted, “I got the notification at 6 p.m. yesterday to be here by 4 p.m. today, and I made it. I thank everyone who worked to make this possible.”
Senator Yar’adua supervised the registration in what officials described as part of a larger effort to integrate coalition members and align party structures across the North-West.
El-Rufai used the occasion to rally supporters ahead of 2027, urging Kaduna citizens aged 18 and above to register with the ADC. He vowed that the coalition would replicate its 2015 victory, when the APC ousted the PDP in the state.
He accused the current APC administration of mismanaging public trust, failing to deliver on campaign promises, and ruling with “impunity and arrogance.”
“We helped bring them into power,” he said. “Now we must help send them out—before they end up in prison.”
He said the ADC-led coalition was preparing to present “a credible alternative capable of restoring Kaduna State’s lost glory.”
