Nasir El-Rufai has not ruled out a possible bid for the presidency in the 2027 election.
The former governor of Kaduna State spoke on Friday, February 13, during an interview on Arise News' Prime Time, monitored by Legit.ng.
El-Rufai hints at 2027 bid
The African Democratic Congress (ADC) chieftain explained that he is not currently planning to run for the presidency in 2027, but he is leaving the door open if his party strongly asks him to.
He said:
“I have said this over and over. I'm not a candidate for any office. In fact, I ought to have retired. But for the disaster that I contributed in forcing on Nigerians, I would have been in Egypt, you know, writing my books and completing my PhD and learning to be fluent in Arabic. That was my life plan after Kaduna. But what is happening is happening. The country is in bad shape, and every Nigerian is suffering across religious, ethnic, regional, and whatever divide. Everyone is having to go through a lot. And side by side with that, you know, you have this affluence and massive diversion of public resources to a few individuals. It hurts me a lot. But the decision to run for president has not been made by me. I have not made a decision to run for president."
Asked if it is somewhere in the back of his mind, the ex-minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) replied:
“No, no, no, no, no. It's not at the back of my mind. There are people that have come out, have indicated their interests, and I think they will do a good job.
“You never say never in politics. And 24 hours is a long time. Even if I tell you I will not run today, tomorrow, it can change. Because if all the leaders of my party, for instance, come and say, ‘look, Nasir, you know, all those that are running have decided that they will leave it. You run.’ For now, no. It is not in my playbook.”
The X video can be watched below in full:
Q: Are you saying definitively that you will not run for president in 2027?
— Imran Muhammad (@Imranmuhdz) February 13, 2026
El-Rufai: You never say never in politics; 24 hours is a long time. Even if I tell you I will not run today, tomorrow it can change, because if all the leaders from my party, for instance, come and say,… pic.twitter.com/UqhOn6BaNz
