Salihu Mohammed Lukman, the former National Vice Chairman (North-West) of the All Progressives Congress (APC), has officially suspended his membership in the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and the broader opposition coalition.
Lukman announced his decision in a message addressed directly to the National Chairman of the ADC, Senator David Mark, which was also copied to other prominent leaders within the coalition.
He pointed to persistent hostile treatment from the former Kaduna State Governor, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, and his close political associates as the primary reason for his exit, citing disagreements over the leadership and strategic direction 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.
Lukman claimed that decisions regarding the coalition’s leadership structure in Kaduna were manipulated to sideline him, stating that he had been reduced “to the status of a bastard” within a political movement he actively worked to establish.
He noted that he had spent over a year working to reconcile and unite various opposition figures in Kaduna, only to become the target of an organized 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 explained that he chose to suspend his memberships in both the ADC and the coalition because he felt it was better “to be inactive than to continue to chase dashed expectations.”
Lukman also questioned the coalition’s genuine commitment to democratic values, accusing some of its key leaders of replicating the very same political practices they had previously criticized.
Furthermore, he alleged that the former Rivers State Governor, Rotimi Amaechi, was engaging individuals in Kaduna whose commitment to building the ADC was highly questionable, while completely ignoring those who had actually invested their time and effort into strengthening the party’s structures.
According to Lukman, these ongoing developments have steadily eroded his confidence in the political alliance, reducing the ADC to “a marginal participant” in preparations for the 2027 general elections.
However, he expressed his sincere appreciation to Senator David Mark and other national leaders of the coalition, clarifying that his decision is not a protest against the national leadership, but rather a direct response to the hostile treatment he received from El-Rufai and certain coalition leaders in Kaduna.
