Former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai has declared that Nigeria’s emerging opposition coalition doesn’t need the support of state governors to unseat President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in the 2027 elections.
Speaking to journalists in Kano, El-Rufai, now a key figure in the Social Democratic Party (SDP) said the real power lies with ordinary Nigerians, not political elites.
“A governor has only one vote. Nigerians have millions,” he said. “We’re building a movement from the ground up.”
His remarks follow a string of high-profile defections and political maneuvers.
While El-Rufai and former Vice President Atiku Abubakar recently visited ex-President Muhammadu Buhari in what appeared to be coalition talks, the PDP Governors’ Forum quickly shut down merger speculations.
“We are not merging with anyone,” the forum stated after a closed-door meeting in Ibadan.
To further complicate matters, Akwa Ibom Governor Umo Eno openly backed President Tinubu for a second term, and PDP heavyweights like Governor Sheriff Oborevwori and former VP candidate Ifeanyi Okowa jumped ship to the APC; moves seen as setbacks for the opposition.
But El-Rufai isn’t fazed.
“We’re not counting governors. We’re counting people,” he insisted, citing Tinubu’s own loss in Lagos during the 2023 election despite having a sitting APC governor there.
He also admitted personal lessons from the past: “I fought hard for Tinubu in Kaduna and lost. That taught me elections are about the people.”
El-Rufai dismissed the idea of a PDP merger, calling the party “a spent force…targeted for destruction.”
“We want a fresh alternative, not a remix of old failures,” he said.
He revealed that the coalition is rallying under the SDP, chosen for its survival prospects under INEC’s deregistration laws and its historic credibility.
But the work is just beginning.
“Forming a party is easy. Building one from polling units to the national level is the hard part,” El-Rufai explained.
The former FCT Minister emphasized internal democracy and shutting out godfathers: “The APC began with hope and ended up owned by a few. We won’t repeat that mistake.”
As for a 2027 presidential candidate? El-Rufai says it’s too early.
“No one is campaigning for candidacy now. We’re building a platform first. Ambition can wait.”
Rejecting regional politics, he concluded:
“We’re facing an existential crisis. It’s not about North or South. It’s about survival. Whoever can deliver that I’ll support them.”
