Bello El-Rufai on Thursday defected from the All Progressives Congress to the African Democratic Congress, telling the House of Representatives that he had formally moved after Speaker Tajudeen Abbas announced the switch during plenary. The Kaduna lawmaker said he would seek re-election on the ADC platform and continue representing Kaduna North Federal Constituency.
In his remarks, Bello said he was now a member of the ADC and framed the move as part of his commitment to the constituency. “As a proud son of Mallam Nasir Elrufai, I am guided by courage, conviction, and the unshakable belief that our people deserve the very best,” he said. He also told voters from Kaduna North that his work would continue and that he would not compromise on delivering quality representation.
Abbas announced Bello’s defection alongside those of Umar Ajilo and Suleiman Richifa, both Peoples Democratic Party lawmakers from Kaduna State, as the 10th House of Representatives sat on Thursday. In the same round of announcements, Kamilu Ado moved from the ADC to the Nigeria Democratic Congress, while Joshua Obika crossed from the APC to the NDC. The News Agency of Nigeria said the affected lawmakers cited internal crises and uncertainty in their former parties as the reason for the changes.
Bello is the son of former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai and also serves as chairman of the Committee on Banking Regulations. His move adds another twist to a legislature already marked by shifting party lines, with Kaduna lawmakers once again at the centre of the change.
The timing also matters because Bello said he would soon announce the ad hoc committee for the Primary Health Care initiative he unveiled last week. He said the plan would begin with two centres, Unguwar Sarki Ward and Badarawa/Malali Ward, and would equip primary health centres with medical supplies, including 1,000 syringes per PHC. For voters in Kaduna North, the message was plain: he intends to keep both the political fight and the health project moving, now under a new banner.
For readers following the broader El-Rufai story, Nasir El-rufai’s bail application was adjourned to the first week of June 2026, a separate case that keeps the family name in the political spotlight. Bello’s defection answers the immediate question raised in plenary: he has left the APC, joined the ADC and says he is running again from the same constituency.
