Malam Nasir El-Rufai, a leading figure in Nigeria’s emerging opposition coalition, has declared that the alliance does not require the backing of state governors to challenge and potentially unseat President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in the 2027 general elections.
Speaking during a media chat with journalists in Kano, the former governor of Kaduna State, who recently defected from the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) to the Social Democratic Party (SDP), emphasised that the coalition’s strategy is centered on grassroots mobilisation rather than courting political elites.
“We are trying to offer Nigerians a real alternative — something different from what they have seen before,” El-Rufai said. “A governor has only one vote. Nigerians have many more votes than one governor or even 36 governors combined,” he added.
His comments come amid the rejection by the PDP Governors’ Forum of any merger or coalition talks ahead of the next election. After a high-profile visit to former President Muhammadu Buhari by former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, who was accompanied by El-Rufai and other coalition members, speculation had mounted that PDP governors might align with the opposition bloc. But following a meeting in Ibadan attended by the party’s acting National Chairman, Ambassador Umar Damagum, and several governors, the forum publicly distanced itself from the idea.
“We are not merging with anyone. We are focused on rebuilding our party for the future,” the forum stated.
Governor Umo Eno of Akwa Ibom added another twist days later when he publicly pledged support for President Tinubu to complete his eight-year tenure during the launch of the Akwa Ibom–Cross River section of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway.
“We believe in continuity, and Akwa Ibom will stand with Mr. President to complete his eight years in office,” Eno said.
This was swiftly followed by defections to the APC by Delta State Governor Sheriff Oborevwori, Atiku’s 2023 running mate Ifeanyi Okowa, and their allies, in a development widely seen as a blow to the opposition’s efforts.
Reacting to these defections, El-Rufai insisted they had no impact on the coalition’s strength.
“The fact that one governor from the PDP has defected means nothing. We are not counting on governors to win elections. We are counting on the people,” he said.
“A governor has only one vote. Nigerians — millions of them — have more power than 36 governors combined. It doesn’t matter if you gather all the governors together; if the people of Nigeria say they are not with you, it is over,” he said.
He pointed to Tinubu’s own experience in Lagos during the 2023 election. “The president had a sitting governor in Lagos — and still lost Lagos. So, what is the real value of a governor?” he asked.
Reflecting on his own past, he admitted: “I was the governor of Kaduna State. I fought hard to deliver President Tinubu in my state, but I lost. That taught me a hard lesson — that elections are ultimately decided by the people, not by political figures.”
El-Rufai affirmed that the new coalition would be driven by citizens. “Governors do not determine election results. The people do. We want the SDP and our coalition to remind Nigerians of that fundamental truth,” he added.
On whether the coalition has begun discussions about its 2027 presidential candidate, El-Rufai made clear that such talks were premature.
“Our focus now is not on selecting candidates. It is on building the platform first. We have told all those with presidential aspirations: put aside your ambitions for now. Join us as equal members and help us build a credible alternative,” he said.
He acknowledged that those with strong followings are welcome, but warned against allowing ambition to drive the process.
“If and when all opposition groups come under the SDP, we will have that conversation. But for now, we must work together to build something Nigerians can trust,” he said.
Rejecting the politics of regionalism, El-Rufai said the coalition was looking beyond geographical origins in its search for leadership. “I no longer care where the president comes from. I want a candidate who can offer real solutions to Nigeria’s problems and excite Nigerians enough to come out and vote,” he stated.
He warned of dire consequences if the country’s trajectory remains unchecked.
“We are facing an existential crisis. It is not about North or South anymore. It is about survival, unity, and progress. Whoever can deliver that — wherever they come from — will have my support,” he said.
On the PDP governors’ refusal to join the coalition, El-Rufai clarified that a merger with the PDP was never on the agenda.
“From the beginning, our intention was never to merge with the PDP. We have been very clear about that. The PDP is a spent force. It is a party targeted for destruction, and, frankly, it has almost succeeded,” he said.
El-Rufai said the coalition aims to give Nigerians a fresh alternative, not a rebranded version of existing parties with longstanding crises.
“We are not looking at political parties that are already ravaged by internal conflicts. We are building something fresh, something that will inspire hope. When Nigerians look at the faces involved, they will hopefully say: ‘Yes, maybe this time it will be different.’ That is the goal, and it is ongoing,” he added.
He disclosed that efforts were underway to unite various opposition forces under the SDP platform.
“Our objective is not to merge political parties. We have been through that before, and we know how long and complicated that process is. What we are trying to do is bring like-minded people — who believe Nigeria needs real change — under one umbrella,” he said.
Explaining the choice of the SDP, he said it was based on an assessment of parties likely to survive deregistration by INEC.
“As you know, INEC now has the power to deregister parties without any elected member at the state Assembly level,” he explained. “We assessed the ones that cannot be deregistered, and concluded that the SDP ranked highest. It has pedigree, it has history — but it still needs building.”
He stressed the difference between forming and building a party.
“Forming a party is easy. Building a party — registering members, holding congresses, building leadership from the polling unit to the national level is the real work,” he said.
El-Rufai underscored the coalition’s commitment to internal democracy.
“What destroyed previous parties in Nigeria is a lack of internal democracy and the stranglehold of godfathers. We want to eliminate that. The APC started with hope, but it became controlled by one or two people. We want a party that no one owns, where everyone has a voice,” he said.
