Rotational Presidency Under Siege? APC Fingers El-Rufai, Atiku In Power Grab Plot

The All Progressives Congress (APC) has launched a scathing attack on former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, and Atiku Abubakar, the Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP) 2023 presidential candidate, accusing them of working in tandem with their loyalists in the African Democratic Congress (ADC) to dismantle Nigeria’s long-standing principle of rotational presidency, a system designed to foster national unity and balance of power.

According to IReporter Online, the APC’s reaction came in response to El-Rufai’s recent remarks at a political gathering in Sokoto on Saturday, August 2, 2025, where he labelled the administration of President Bola Tinubu as “incompetent, clannish, and unfit for a second term.”

The ruling party, in a statement signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka, described El-Rufai and Atiku as a “clear and present threat” to Nigeria’s peace, progress, and democratic stability.

The statement further alleges that El-Rufai and his allies in ADC are plotting to impose Atiku as the party’s flagbearer in the midst of a Southern presidency, a move the APC claims is a calculated effort to upend national unity.

“It is now obvious to Nigerians,” the statement reads, “that what Atiku did to the PDP in 2023, he and El-Rufai now seek to replicate on a national scale through the ADC.”

According to IReporter Online, the APC dismissed El-Rufai’s criticism of the Tinubu administration as the bitter outbursts of a “political has-been” still nursing wounds from his failed ministerial ambition.

The party characterized his descent from national prominence to political irrelevance as “worthy of academic study,” accusing him of opportunism, double standards, and unchecked ambition.

The APC also slammed the opposition’s silence on viable alternatives to current reforms.

“If El-Rufai and Atiku truly detest the administration’s economic policies,” the party challenged, “why haven’t they presented practical proposals to reverse the fuel subsidy removal or reintroduce multiple exchange rates — and explain how they’d fund such retrogressive measures?”

Backing Tinubu’s economic reforms, the APC pointed to clear signs of national recovery, including a surge in oil production, improved agricultural output, expanding infrastructure with over 400 road and bridge projects, military upgrades, and declining inflation.

According to IReporter Online, the party insisted these accomplishments expose El-Rufai’s claims as “hollow rhetoric from a sore loser.”

APC also accused El-Rufai of ethnic manipulation, arguing that his rejection as a minister doesn’t justify branding the Tinubu administration as clannish. Highlighting his controversial legacy in Kaduna — including marginalisation of minorities, sectarian violence, and massive state debt — the APC dubbed him “the face of failed leadership.”

The party concluded by praising President Tinubu’s performance under the Renewed Hope Agenda, describing his first-term achievements as unmatched in Nigeria’s history. It expressed confidence that Nigerians would reject divisive figures like El-Rufai and Atiku and renew Tinubu’s mandate in 2027 to preserve national unity and progress.

”IREPORTER REPORTS”