El-Rufai Reveals Key Reasons Behind 2015 Coalition Against Jonathan

Former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai has opened up on the motivation behind the political coalition that unseated former President Goodluck Jonathan in the 2015 general elections.

Speaking during an interview on Arise News on Monday evening, El-Rufai explained that the merger of opposition parties to form the All Progressives Congress (APC) was primarily driven by perceived poor governance, broken promises, and a need for political survival among smaller parties.

He outlined three major reasons behind the decision to merge against Jonathan’s administration:

Discontent with Jonathan’s Leadership:
El-Rufai said many political actors believed the then-president was underperforming and steering the country in the wrong direction.

Broken Promise Not to Seek Re-election:
Jonathan had reportedly pledged not to contest in 2015 but reversed his decision, causing internal rifts within the ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP).

Survival Strategy for Opposition Parties:
El-Rufai admitted that smaller opposition parties—including the CPC, ACN, and ANPP—realized they had to unite or risk being politically extinguished, election after election, by the dominant PDP.

According to him, the merger was not motivated by ethnic or regional sentiments but by strategic political necessity.

“It was an act of self-preservation. The PDP was gradually dismantling opposition forces across elections. We had to come together to survive politically,” El-Rufai explained.

He insisted that the alliance was born out of the need to rescue Nigeria from what was seen as poor leadership and policy missteps under Jonathan, stressing that the issue was not about the North or South.

Although El-Rufai was a strong backer of President Muhammadu Buhari, whose administration faced severe criticism, he did not raise similar objections during Buhari’s eight-year rule. His comments are now drawing renewed attention amid his recent critiques of the APC and Tinubu’s leadership.