Former Kaduna State Governor, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, has declined to give a definite answer on whether he has formally joined the African Democratic Congress (ADC).
He said his political affiliations should not be a matter of public interrogation, adding that there were more pressing national issues deserving attention.
The former governor made the remarks while appearing on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics on August 31, 2025. When asked directly if he had registered as an ADC member, El-Rufai dismissed the question as inconsequential and unworthy of the national debate.
“That’s not for me to tell the world,” El-Rufai retorted when pressed on his membership status. “I don’t need to prove my membership of the ADC to anybody. It is not even an issue that requires the wasting of our time. There are far more serious problems in this country than whether I am in the ADC or not,” he said.
The former governor’s refusal to confirm or deny his membership comes amid growing speculation about his political realignments ahead of the 2027 general elections. Many observers have linked him with the opposition coalition that is positioning itself as a challenge to the ruling party.
Asked whether his past ties to the Social Democratic Party (SDP) influenced his current political standing, El-Rufai was more forthcoming. He admitted he remains a member of the SDP while explaining that the coalition agreement allowed leaders like him to retain their original platforms for the time being.
“I am a member of the SDP, and in case you have forgotten, even when the ADC was adopted as the political party for the coalition in 2027, the leadership gave Peter Obi of the Labour Party and myself of the SDP room to stay in our respective parties until some critical elections were concluded,” he explained.
According to El-Rufai, the coalition arrangement was designed to respect local political realities in different states. He said Peter Obi would remain with the Labour Party for now because of the upcoming Anambra governorship election, while he himself would continue with the SDP due to elections in Niger State later this year.
“This is part and parcel of the covenant of the coalition,” he emphasized. “Peter Obi has elections in Anambra in November, and he will campaign under the Labour Party. We have elections in Niger State in November, and I will campaign with the SDP.
So whether I am in the SDP or ADC is not the material issue. I am one of the coalition leaders, and how we shape the coalition is for us to decide. It is not open to interrogation from outsiders.”
The former governor insisted that questions about his loyalty to the coalition or to the ADC were misplaced, stressing that leadership decisions within the alliance were taken collectively and with a clear roadmap in mind.
He argued that his political role should be judged by his contributions to national discourse and not by his party card.
