BREAKING: El-Rufai knocks APC, says “Illiterates in leadership” have destroyed party ideals

Ex-Kaduna State Governor on the platform of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, Malam Nasir El-Rufai on Tuesday came down hard on his party, claiming the party leadership has abandoned the ideals of its founding fathers.

Speaking on a topic: Strenghning Democracy in Nigeria” at a national conference in Abuja, El-Rufai described the state of governance and opposition in the country as a “national emergency.”

He declared that there is no longer internal democracy and active party structure in APC, lamented that he no longer recognise the APC.

“I no longer recognize the APC. No party organ has met in two years—no caucus, no NEC, nothing. You don’t even know if it is a one-man show; it’s a zero-man show.”

He further lampooned the APC, describing the party as a party with illiterates, semi-illiterates and cunning people as leaders, attributing the lack of quality leadership to unqualified delegates.

“You cannot afford to have illiterates, semi-illiterates, and cunning people as your leaders. This is why we end up with the poor leadership we have today,” he said.

He advised political parties to raise the bar for candidates vying for political offices and delegates to party congresses, stressing that secondary school certificate as least requirement for party nominations should be outlawed in the Constitution.

El-Rufai recalled that the APC was originally meant to tackle and combat corruption, rebuild the economy and enhance security, but regrettably, those ideals have been abandoned.

“The problems that led to the creation of the APC remain unresolved, but I no longer believe the APC is interested in addressing them. The distance between me and the party is widening,” he revealed.

He called on the opposition political parties to for form strong alliance to challenge the ruling party and protect democracy.

“There are internal mercenaries in the PDP, hired and motivated to destroy the party. The Labour Party is also facing similar issues. Peter Obi himself told me, ‘I don’t know what’s happening in the party I contested with.’

“There seems to be a deliberate project to destroy opposition parties,” he alleged.

Citing a poll that revealed 75% of registered voters might abstain from the 2027 elections, El-Rufai warned of an impending crisis.

“This is dangerous. For those of us who lived half our lives under military rule, we know what it is. We don’t want a military rule, but we also don’t want civilians behaving like the military in their babbar riga and suits,” he said.

He appealed to opposition parties to set aside their differences and form a united front to save democracy.

“This is a national emergency, and we must act before history repeats itself,” he concluded.