2027 Presidency: ADC Will Do Primaries, But No Zoning Or Forced Consensus — El-Rufai

Former Kaduna State governor and chieftain of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Nasir El-Rufai, has said the opposition party was gearing up for open, fair and competitive primaries for its presidential ticket without zoning the slot to any part of the country.

Speaking during an interview on Trust TV on Monday, El-Rufai disclosed that the party was working on its manifesto and political platform, while engaging aspirants across various elective positions.

According to him, the ADC was committed to a transparent primary process that will allow all aspirants to contest without imposition.

“We are mobilising at that level. And at the top level, we are preparing, we are working on our manifesto, on our platform, and we’re working on getting all our presidential aspirants, governorship aspirants and other aspirants to come together and agree to a consensus that we’ll have free and fair primaries,” he said.

“We’ll not have zoning, we’ll not have any of that, no consensus, no forcing anyone to step down. Everyone will be given the opportunity to contest and whoever wins will be supported by all,” El-Rufai added.

He further argued that the ADC enjoys growing grassroots acceptance across the country, challenging perceptions that the party lacks popular support.

“If you don’t think that the ADC has grassroots support, ask some of the National Assembly members to go to their constituency without a garrison of soldiers and police to guard them,” he added.

El-Rufai noted that the party’s mobilisation strategy was being pursued at both grassroots and leadership levels as part of efforts to strengthen its internal democracy and electoral competitiveness.