APC: El-Rufai, Atiku plotting to derail power rotation with ADC

The All Progressives Congress (APC) has accused Nasir el-Rufai, the former Kaduna governor Atiku Abubakar of orchestrating a calculated plan to derail the country’s power rotation arrangement.

The ruling party also accused the duo of hijacking the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and positioning it as a platform for another northern presidential bid.

A statement issued on Monday by Felix Morka, the party’s national publicity secretary, alleged that el-Rufai’s recent outbursts against President Bola Tinubu stemmed from personal bitterness after his failed ministerial nomination.

Morka said el-Rufai’s comments were part of a broader agenda to undermine the zoning principle which favours a southern presidency after eight years of northern leadership under former president Muhammadu Buhari.

“It is now clear to all Nigerians that El-Rufai and his cohorts in ADC are on a mission to upend the presidential rotational principle designed to promote national unity and cohesion in the country through the imposition of Atiku as presidential candidate of ADC in the middle of a southern presidency rotation,” Morka said.

The party said el-Rufai and Atiku’s current political manoeuvres mirror the same pattern of defiance that led to the collapse of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2023 elections, warning that their alliance poses “a clear and present threat to the unity, peace and progress of Nigeria”.

“It was Atiku’s selfish and obdurate refusal to respect the rotation principle during the 2023 PDP presidential primary election that directly resulted in PDP’s virtual cremation. El-Rufai and Atiku want to do to Nigeria what Atiku did to PDP,” the statement reads.

APC also took aim at what it described as the hypocrisy of opposition politicians who initially supported fuel subsidy removal and foreign exchange reform but now criticise the Tinubu administration for implementing those very policies.

“All three major contestants in the 2023 presidential election campaigned to remove fuel subsidy and harmonise multiple foreign exchange regimes. Upon his election and inauguration, President Tinubu swiftly implemented policy reforms as he promised,” Morka said.

The party dismissed el-Rufai’s recent comments in Sokoto—where he reportedly described Tinubu’s government as incompetent and clannish—as “rantings of an inconsolable sulker”.

Morka added that the former Kaduna governor has brought “nothing to the political table except an oversized ego, wild entitlement mentality, and predatory presidential ambition”.

“He is the poster child of bad governance and failed leadership,” the statement continued, citing allegations of marginalisation of southern Kaduna minorities, weaponised demolitions, and a debt profile of N284 billion under el-Rufai’s tenure.

The APC insisted that Nigeria is witnessing “an era of visionary and transformational leadership” under Tinubu, pointing to indicators such as rising oil production, improved power generation, stock market growth, agricultural investment, student loans, and a major military retooling effort.

“The administration’s Renewed Hope Agenda has fundamentally repositioned our nation for steady growth and progress. We are confident that Nigerians will sustain their support and renew President Tinubu’s mandate come 2027,” Morka said.