Nasir El-Rufai, the former Governor of Kaduna State, has outlined the critical motivations that led to the political merger which ousted President Goodluck Jonathan in 2015. El-Rufai addressed a recurring perception that coalitions tend to emerge mainly when a Southern leader holds the presidency. He was responding to observations connecting the formation of coalitions to Southern leadership, especially as it occurred under Jonathan and appears to be resurfacing under President Tinubu. It should be recalled that during Jonathan’s presidency, various opposition political parties merged to form what is now the All Progressives Congress (APC). Today, under President Bola Tinubu—also a Southerner—the coalition discussion is once again gaining momentum. As one of the instrumental political figures behind the formation of the APC, El-Rufai reflected on how President Muhammadu Buhari’s eight-year administration—often labeled as one of the most ineffective—went by without any such coalition challenges arising. When questioned about why coalitions often emerge during Southern-led governments, El-Rufai responded that the matter had never occurred to him deeply. “That’s not something I focus on. The coalition against Jonathan happened due to three major reasons,” El-Rufai stated. He elaborated further, noting: “This was a strategic survival move,” El-Rufai added. “The three major parties decided to come together because they saw the PDP overpowering them one by one. It wasn’t really about North or South. It was simply about leadership performance.” Interestingly, El-Rufai has since exited the APC and joined the Social Democratic Party (SDP). There is growing speculation among Nigerians that El-Rufai’s defection might be tied to grievances over President Tinubu’s refusal to appoint him as a minister. Currently, El-Rufai stands as a prominent member of an opposition alliance that has pledged to unseat President Tinubu in the 2027 general elections, aiming to send him back to his Lagos residence.
