Dare Babalola
The former Governor of Kaduna State and a prominent member of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Nasir El-Rufai, stated that his party is preparing for open, fair, and competitive primaries to select its presidential candidate, without designating the position to a specific region of the country.
During a Trust TV interview on Monday, El-Rufai stated that the party is crafting its manifesto and political agenda, whilst interacting with candidates seeking various offices.
He said the ADC is committed to a transparent primary process, allowing all aspirants to compete freely without interference.
“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.
“We’ll not have zoning, we’ll not have any of that, no consensus, no forcing anyone to step down. Everyone will be allowed to contest and whoever wins will be supported by all,” El-Rufai said.
Furthermore, he noted that the ADC is gaining acceptance at the grassroots level nationwide, countering perceptions that it 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.
The ADC chieftain stressed 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.
