Former National Vice Chairman (North-West) of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Salihu Mohammed Lukman, has suspended his membership of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and the opposition coalition.

Lukman announced his decision in a message addressed to the National Chairman of the ADC, Senator David Mark, and copied to coalition leaders.

He attributed his exit to what he described as persistent hostile treatment by former Kaduna State Governor, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, and his associates over the leadership and 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 alleged that decisions concerning the coalition’s leadership in Kaduna were manipulated to sideline him, saying he had been reduced “to the status of a bastard” within a coalition he had worked to build.He said he had spent more than a year working to reconcile and unite opposition leaders in Kaduna but had instead become the target of what he described as an orchestrated 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 said he decided to suspend both his ADC and coalition memberships because it was better “to be inactive than to continue to chase dashed expectations.”

Lukman also questioned the coalition’s commitment to democratic values, accusing some of its leaders of replicating the same political practices they had previously criticised.

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

According to him, the 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.

He, however, expressed appreciation to Senator David Mark and other national leaders of the coalition, saying his decision was not a protest against the party’s national leadership but against what he described as the treatment he received from El-Rufai and some coalition leaders in Kaduna. (Daily Trust)