Former Kaduna State governor, Nasir El-Rufai, has raised concerns over what he described as a growing pattern in which members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) are rarely linked to corruption allegations, warning that such a trend must be addressed.
El-Rufai spoke on Thursday in Abuja during the 23rd Daily Trust Dialogue, which focused on the theme, “Nigeria’s Fourth Republic: What is Working and What is Not?”
According to him, Nigeria’s democratic system cannot deliver meaningful progress without firm commitment to justice, fairness and accountable leadership.
He said, “We have governance without accountability. Nigeria has built reform and accountability faster than in the substance. We conduct elections and create agencies and announce assets recoveries, but accountability by just governing remains selective. Corruption has become dangerous for some that are in opposition and negotiable for others that are sitting on the fence and want to move to the APC; and invisible for those aligned with the power. APC members are never accused of corruption.”
El-Rufai noted that the consequences of selective accountability are already visible across the country, manifesting in poor service delivery and public distrust.
He added, “This is not abstract; it appears in unpaid salaries, abandoned projects, decayed infrastructure and widespread cynicism, when laws are enforced unevenly, deterrence collapses. And when deterrence collapses, trust evaporates; and this is what is happening in Nigeria.”
The former governor further argued that strengthening national institutions—particularly through judicial reforms—was critical to improving the credibility of elections and ensuring a genuinely independent electoral commission.
He said, “Finally, we must restore ethical and competent government for our politics to have meaning. Reform is not only about what must change, but it is also about what must stop.”
Also participating as panelists at the dialogue were Mr Sunday Dare, Special Adviser to the President on Media and Policy Communication, and Hon. Nnenna Elendu Ukeje, Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the 7th and 8th House of Representatives.
The event was chaired by former Senate President Bukola Saraki, while the Olubadan of Ibadan, Oba Rashidi Ladoja, attended as Special Guest of Honour.
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