KADUNA, Nigeria — Nasir El-Rufai, former governor of Kaduna State, has formally joined the African Democratic Congress (ADC) after a brief and controversial stint with the Social Democratic Party (SDP).
El-Rufai completed his registration at the party office in Ungwan Sarki ward in Kaduna, where he was issued his membership card.
The former Federal Capital Territory (FCT) minister was accompanied by a group of supporters, including former aides and local government chairmen.
El-Rufai, who was instrumental in the merger that led to the formation of the All Progressives Congress (APC) ahead of the 2015 elections, expressed dissatisfaction with the party’s current trajectory.
He accused the APC of straying from its foundational values, a theme he emphasized when he left the party earlier this year.
In a resignation letter dated Wednesday, November 26, 2025, El-Rufai formally announced his departure from the SDP.
In the letter, he stated, “I wish to notify you that I have resigned my membership of the SDP, effective 26 November 2025. 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’s political journey has been marked by significant shifts.
He had joined the SDP after leaving the APC in March 2025, citing that the party’s direction no longer aligned with his personal values.
In his resignation from the APC, El-Rufai criticized the leadership for abandoning the progressive principles that initially defined the party.
“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,” El-Rufai wrote in his resignation letter from the APC.
He also highlighted that his warnings about the party’s declining trajectory had been ignored.
In May, reports confirmed that opposition leaders had agreed to adopt the ADC as a platform to challenge the APC in the upcoming 2027 general election.
Key figures in this coalition include former transport minister Rotimi Amaechi, former vice president Atiku Abubakar, 2023 Labour Party presidential candidate Peter Obi, and former APC chairman John Oyegun.
Other prominent figures in the coalition include 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.
