El-Rufai Reveals Real Reasons Coalition Worked Against Jonathan in 2015

Former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, has shed light on the real motivations behind the political coalition that unseated President Goodluck Jonathan in 2015. Speaking in response to claims that coalitions only emerge when a Southerner is in power, El-Rufai dismissed the notion, emphasizing that the move against Jonathan was driven by performance and political necessity, not regional sentiment.

Reflecting on the events leading to the formation of the All Progressives Congress (APC), El-Rufai identified three key reasons for the alliance of opposition parties. According to him, the first was a widespread perception that President Jonathan was not governing the country effectively. The second reason, he noted, was Jonathan’s earlier commitment not to run for re-election in 2015, which later caused friction within his own party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). The third factor, El-Rufai explained, was a strategic realization among smaller opposition parties—such as the CPC, NPP, and ACN—that unless they united, the PDP would continue to overpower them in successive elections. He described the merger as a move driven by “self-preservation” rather than regional politics.

El-Rufai, a founding member of the APC, pointed out that the same coalition concerns did not arise during the eight-year presidency of Muhammadu Buhari, also of the APC, suggesting that the issue has more to do with political context than ethnicity or geography.

Now a member of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), El-Rufai has distanced himself from the APC. His political shift comes amid speculations that he is disgruntled over not being offered a ministerial role by President Bola Tinubu. Regardless of the motivation, El-Rufai has aligned himself with a growing coalition of opposition leaders who are openly challenging the Tinubu administration and have pledged to unseat the president in the 2027 elections.