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Former Governor of Kaduna State, Malam Nasir el-Rufai, has said the problem of poor leadership in the country has its roots in the leadership recruitment process, stressing that a surfeit of delegates who elect candidates in the political parties are illiterate.
El-Rufai made the assertion on Tuesday in Abuja while speaking with journalists at the end of a two-day national conference on strengthening democracy in Nigeria, organised by Centre LSD And Partners.
He said he had no intention of leaving the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), contrary to recent reports.
The former governor said he was only being hard on his party because he wanted it to change.
On January 8, el-Rufai had met behind closed doors with the leadership of Social Democratic Party (SDP) at the party’s national secretariat in Abuja.
At the meeting were former Chief Security Officer to the late Gen. Sani Abacha, Major Hamza Al-Mustapha (rtd), and Atiku’s former spokesman, Segun Showunmi, among others.
Showunmi had in a post on his verified Facebook page described the meeting as a “strategic gathering” convened by SDP chairman, Shehu Gabam, to evaluate the state of opposition politics in Nigeria.
The move was, however, widely seen as part of ongoing plans to form a formidable coalition capable of defeating APC and President Bola Tinubu in 2027.
But el-Rufai said on Tuesday, “I am not leaving the APC. I don’t have such plans.”
However, he lamented the lack of internal democracy in the ruling party.
The former governor of Kaduna State criticised the quality of leadership emerging from political parties, attributing it to unqualified delegates
He stated, “I no longer recognise 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 or it’s a zero-man show.
“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.”
El-Rufai said APC was originally established to combat corruption, rebuild the economy, and enhance security, but the goals had 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,” he stated.
“The distance between me and the party is widening,” el-Rufai added, alleging that there are mercenaries in the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) employed to destroy the party.
He explained, “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.”
But reacting to the former governor’s comments, Special Adviser on Public Communications and Media to the President, Daniel Bwala, wondered if el-Rufai would have held the same opinion if he was still in government.
Bwala wrote, in reply to the former governor of Kaduna State, “My senior brother, if you were to be in the government and cabinet, would you have held and expressed the same position? History is replete with examples.
“It is a government you participated in its formation, that you now want to unseat. Haba Mallam, a Ji soron Allah mana.”
Nonetheless, the democracy conference observed that the centralisation of the election management system negatively affected the efficiency and effectiveness of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
In a communique issued yesterday, the conference called on INEC to deepen the space for political participation by allowing the registration of new political parties as enshrined in the constitution.
Reading the communique on behalf of the organisers, Dr. Otive Igbuzor and Ezenwa Nwagu expressed concern that it appeared there were clandestine moves by politicians in power to fix their cronies into INEC in readiness for the next election.
The communique said, “INEC should promote the decentralisation of election management in Nigeria to enhance efficiency, transparency, and inclusivity by empowering regional and local structures to oversee electoral processes, address logistical challenges, and engage communities more effectively.
“INEC should undertake a review of its internal processes to incorporate ward-level collation of results and ensure strict adherence to the electoral guidelines as mandated.
“Technology should be integrated into the electoral process to enhance accountability and transparency, aligning with global best practices and ensuring the credibility of the election outcomes.
“INEC should live up to its billing of strengthening political parties through its regulatory function to ensure internal democracy is entrenched in political parties.”
Chuks Okocha and Adedayo Akinwale
The post El-Rufai: El-Rufai: Illiterate Leaders Responsible for Nigeria’s Poor Leadership appeared first on Arise News.
