Former Kaduna State governor Nasir El-Rufai has raised concerns about the state of Nigeria’s democracy, describing the current situation with the opposition and governance as a “national emergency.”

He emphasized the need for opposition parties to unite to safeguard democracy in the country while speaking at a national conference on strengthening democracy in Nigeria, organised by the African Centre for Leadership, Strategy and Development (Centre LSD), the Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD), the Westminster Foundation for Democracy (WFD), the Peering Advocacy and Advancement Centre in Africa (PAACA), and the National Peace Committee (NPC).

“The way and manner opposition political parties are being targeted for destruction and the style and quality of governance in this country today is a national emergency. It should concern everyone. And I think this is a problem for all of us to think about and play a role in changing it because, as His Excellency (Atiku) said, we stand the risk of losing democracy itself,” he stated.

El-Rufai cited a recent poll suggesting that 75% of registered voters in Nigeria do not intend to vote in 2027, describing this as dangerous for the nation’s democratic future. “This is very dangerous, and I believe every voice must rise to fight for this democracy. For those of us in our 60s, we lived half our lives under military rule. We know what it is, and we don’t want a military rule, but we also don’t want civilians behaving like the military in their babbar riga and suits. So, this is a national emergency.”

He appealed to opposition political parties to merge into a single, strong platform, similar to the formation of the APC in 2014, while emphasizing the need for internal democracy.

El-Rufai further expressed concerns about the alleged targeting of opposition parties, particularly the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), which he claimed is being deliberately weakened. “There are internal mercenaries in the PDP that have been hired, paid, or otherwise motivated to destroy the party,” he alleged, adding that “the party is on its way to the grave, and it is most unfortunate.”

He also claimed that similar efforts were being made against the Labour Party, referencing a conversation with Peter Obi, in which Obi reportedly said, “I don’t know what is happening in the party that I contested for president.”

“There seems to be a project to destroy all the opposition political parties,” El-Rufai insisted. “We have to put aside our differences and create a broad platform that will do the driving of the military again because we are there almost again.” He called on Atiku Abubakar for guidance, stating, “So, Your Excellency, we need your experience and skills.”

El-Rufai also expressed disillusionment with the current state of the ruling APC, a party he was instrumental in founding. “I no longer recognise the APC. No party organ of the APC has met for the past two years. No caucus, no NEC, nothing. You don’t even know if it is a one-man show; it is a zero-man show,” he lamented.

He explained that the APC’s founding principles of fighting corruption, revamping the economy, and restoring security had been abandoned. “The problems are still there. However, I no longer believe that my party believes in confronting those problems. So, the distance between me and APC is widening, but I remain where I am because these problems remain the living problems of Nigerians, and they have to be addressed, and the only way to address them is through the instrumentality of the political parties,” he said.

El-Rufai also criticized the role of illiterate and unqualified party delegates in electing leaders, calling for minimum standards for both candidates and delegates. “You cannot afford to have illiterates, semi-illiterates, cunning people, and so on as your leaders,” he said.

He warned that the lack of such standards leads to poor leadership: “You will end up with what we have. So, the parties must have a standard.”

While acknowledging the constitutional requirement of a secondary school certificate as a minimum qualification, he argued that political parties should set their own higher standards.

Despite his criticisms, El-Rufai stated he remains a member of the APC but issued a challenge to the opposition: “You must come together and form a party that, in my view, should closely resemble the NPN of the second republic. That is one political party that was an effective machine.”