When late last week Salihu Mohammed Lukman announced his resignation from the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and suspension of all activities in the opposition coalition that was building up in Kaduna many were curious as to what may have led to the decision given how far he had gone identifying with the bloc in the current dispensation. Lukman, who never shies away from voicing out his feelings, gave a hint as to why he decided to leave saying it is because he could no longer tolerate what he described as hostile treatment from El-Rufai and his supporters over the leadership of the coalition in Kaduna State. “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 wrote while further alleging that decisions concerning the coalition’s leadership in Kaduna were manipulated to sideline him, saying he had been reduced “to the status of a bastard” within a coalition he had worked to build. He said he had spent more than a year working to reconcile and unite opposition leaders in Kaduna but had instead become the target of what he described as an orchestrated campaign by El-Rufai and his supporters. “For Mallam Nasir and his people, I am the problem. I have decided to resolve the problem for them and everyone,” he said. The former APC chieftain said he decided to suspend both his ADC and coalition memberships because it was better “to be inactive than to continue to chase dashed expectations.” He further alleged that former Rivers State Governor, Rotimi Amaechi, was engaging individuals in Kaduna whose commitment to building the ADC was questionable while ignoring those who had invested in strengthening the party’s structures. According to him, the developments had steadily eroded his confidence in the coalition and reduced the ADC to what he described as “a marginal participant” in preparations for the 2027 general elections. He, however, expressed appreciation to Senator David Mark and other national leaders of the coalition, saying his decision was not a protest against the party’s national leadership but against what he described as the treatment he received from El-Rufai and some coalition leaders in Kaduna. Lukman, a former National Vice Chairman (North-West) of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Lukman was one of the prominent politicians in Kaduna to move to the opposition ADC early enough when the party was yet to attain the current level of prominence. His supporters say having made such a huge commitment to strengthening opposition in Kaduna State, he should have been accorded due respect and recognition much more than what he was getting before his exit from the party. “Anybody in his position would have felt bad because in the absence of El-Rufai, he should have been de facto leader of the ADC and rallying point of the opposition,” said an ADC member in Kaduna who does not want to be named. Sources close to former Kaduna State Governor, Malam Nasir El-Rufai, have said there are other issues that the former ADC leader has not disclosed. They linked the development to a rather long-running political disagreement between El-rufai and Lukman saying the former governor had played some major roles in Lukman’s political career and rejected claims that he was responsible for Lukman’s problems in the ADC. A former member of El-Rufai’s cabinet, who spoke to Daily Trust on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to speak publicly, said the relationship between the two politicians dates back to the 2014 APC governorship primary in Kaduna State. According to the source, Lukman contested against El-Rufai for the APC governorship ticket but lost the primary election. The source said despite the contest, El-Rufai later supported Lukman’s appointment as Director-General of the Progressive Governors Forum (PGF). “He contested against Malam in the 2014 primary, but after the election Malam still supported him to become Director-General of the Progressive Governors Forum,” the source said. The source also claimed that El-Rufai later backed Lukman’s emergence as APC National Vice Chairman (North-West), even though he had initially wanted the position to go to a female politician. “I was at the meeting where Malam said he preferred a woman for the North-West vice chairmanship. But he later agreed to nominate Lukman and he got the position. “That is why I was surprised when I heard him blaming El-Rufai for what happened to him in the ADC,” the source said. The source said although El-Rufai later became unhappy with Lukman’s performance as Director-General of the Progressive Governors Forum and later as APC North-West Vice Chairman, he never worked against him publicly. He said the latest disagreement started after the opposition coalition adopted the ADC ahead of the 2027 general elections. He said the office of ADC North-We
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