Reported by: Ijeoma G | Edited by: Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
A major internal crisis has engulfed the African Democratic Congress-led opposition coalition following the decision of one of its leading figures, Salihu Mohammed Lukman, to suspend his membership of both the party and the coalition, directly accusing former Kaduna State Governor Mallam Nasir El-Rufai of orchestrating the hostile treatment and political marginalisation that forced him to quit. In a message addressed to the National Chairman of the ADC, Senator David Mark, and copied to coalition leaders, Lukman announced his decision on Thursday, July 16, 2026, marking one of the most serious public cracks within the opposition alliance ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Lukman, a former National Vice Chairman (North-West) of the All Progressives Congress, said his decision followed months of sustained hostility from El-Rufai and his political associates over the leadership and direction of the party in Kaduna State. In his resignation message, he wrote: "This may come to you as a disappointment. I am very sorry. I just can't continue to bear the painful hostile treatment I keep getting from some leaders from Kaduna, especially Mallam Nasir". He claimed that decisions concerning leadership representation in Kaduna were being manipulated to sideline him, alleging that he had been reduced "to the status of a bastard" within a coalition he had worked hard to build.
The former APC chieftain disclosed that he had devoted more than a year to reconciling and uniting opposition leaders in Kaduna, only to become the target of what he described as an orchestrated campaign led by El-Rufai and his supporters. "For Mallam Nasir and his people, I am the problem," Lukman said, adding that he had decided "to resolve the problem for them and everyone". He announced the suspension of both his ADC and coalition memberships, stating that it was preferable "to be inactive than to continue to chase dashed expectations".
Lukman also questioned the coalition's commitment to democratic values, accusing some of its leaders of reproducing the same political practices they had once criticised. "For many coalition leaders, the objective of rescuing our democracy is just about allowing them to have their way, even when their actions reproduce the old habits that destroyed our former parties," he stated. He further alleged that former Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi was reaching out to individuals in Kaduna whose commitment to building the ADC was questionable, while disregarding the views of those who had invested in strengthening the party's structures. According to Lukman, these developments have steadily diminished his confidence in the coalition and reduced the ADC to what he described as "a marginal participant" in preparations for the 2027 elections.
The development is likely to heighten concerns over the alliance's internal cohesion, particularly in Kaduna, a state considered strategically important to the coalition's electoral calculations. The opposition coalition had been positioning itself as a formidable force to challenge President Bola Tinubu and the All Progressives Congress in the 2027 general elections, but the latest rift exposes deep fault lines within its ranks. Lukman expressed gratitude to Senator David Mark and other national leaders of the coalition, insisting that his action was not a protest against the party's national leadership but against what he described as "the disdainful treatment meted out to him by El-Rufai and a small group of coalition leaders in Kaduna".
As of the time of filing this report, neither El-Rufai nor the ADC national leadership had publicly responded to Lukman's claims. However, the controversy adds to the growing list of internal disputes within the ADC-led coalition, which has also faced recent controversies surrounding El-Rufai, including disagreements over access to the former governor while he was in the custody of anti-corruption authorities. With the 2027 elections approaching, the coalition's ability to present a united front appears increasingly uncertain.
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