Fresh crisis rocks Kaduna ADC as founding member Salihu Lukman suspends membership

A fresh crisis has hit the African Democratic Congress, ADC-led opposition coalition after one of its leading figures, Salihu Mohammed Lukman, suspended his membership of the party, accusing former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, of political marginalisation and hostile treatment.

Mr Lukman, a founding member of the opposition coalition and former National Vice Chairman (North-West) of the All Progressives Congress, APC, announced his decision in a letter addressed to the National Chairman of the ADC, Senator David Mark, with copies sent to other coalition leaders.

He said his decision followed months of what he described as sustained hostility from El-Rufai and his political associates over the leadership and direction of the party 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,” Mr Lukman wrote.

He alleged that decisions relating to the party’s leadership and representation in Kaduna were deliberately manipulated to sideline him despite his efforts to unite opposition forces in the state.

According to him, he had been reduced “to the status of a bastard” within a coalition he worked tirelessly to establish.

The development represents one of the most significant public cracks within the ADC-led opposition coalition ahead of the 2027 general elections and is expected to raise fresh concerns over the alliance’s internal cohesion, particularly in Kaduna State, regarded as a key battleground.

Mr Lukman said he spent more than a year working to reconcile and mobilise opposition leaders in Kaduna but had instead become the target of what he described as a coordinated campaign orchestrated by El-Rufai and his loyalists.

“For Mallam Nasir and his people, I am the problem. I have decided to resolve the problem for them and everyone,” he said.

He announced the suspension of both his ADC membership and participation in the opposition coalition, saying it was better “to be inactive than to continue to chase dashed expectations.”

Mr Lukman also questioned the coalition’s commitment to democratic ideals, accusing some of its leaders of replicating the same undemocratic practices they had previously condemned.

“For many coalition leaders, the objective of rescuing our democracy is just about allowing them to have their way, even when their actions reproduce the old habits that destroyed our former parties,” he said.

He further accused former Rivers State Governor, Rotimi Amaechi, of engaging with individuals in Kaduna whose commitment to building the ADC was doubtful while ignoring those who had invested in strengthening the party’s structures.

“Whatever he wants to do with them is certainly not about building the party into a strong democratic party,” Mr Lukman stated.

According to him, the unfolding 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.

Despite his decision, Lukman expressed appreciation to the ADC National Chairman, Senator David Mark, and other national leaders of the coalition, stressing that his action should not be interpreted as a protest against the party’s national leadership.