Nasir Ahmad El-Rufai

Nasir Ahmad el-Rufai (born 16 February 1960) is a Nigerian politician who served as the governor of Kaduna State from 2015 to 2023. A member of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) since November 2025 after his defection from the All Progressives Congress (APC), which he was one of the founding members of, he also served as the minister of the Federal Capital Territory from 2003 to 2007 under the presidency of Olusegun Obasanjo.

El-Rufai was born on 16 February 1960 to a Fulani family in Daudawa, Katsina State, Nigeria. He was trained in school by his uncle following his father's death when he was eight years old. El-Rufai was educated at Barewa College in Zaria and was a junior to future Nigerian president Umaru Musa Yar'Adua, who served as his dormitory captain. He graduated in 1976. He further studied at Ahmadu Bello University, obtaining a bachelor's degree in quantity surveying.

In 1984 and 1985, he received a Master of Business Administration (MBA) and a postgraduate diploma in computer science, respectively. He has attended several professional and post-graduate programs, including the Owner-President Management Program (OPM-22) between 1993 and 1995, and the Advanced Management Programme (AMP-162) of the Harvard Business School in 2002. He attended the Georgetown School of Foreign Service of Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., for the Georgetown Leadership Seminar in 2000 and programs on privatization at Arthur D. Little School Management and several leadership development programs of the Aspen Institute.

In August 2008, El-Rufai received a law degree from the University of London and a master's degree in public administration from the John F. Kennedy School of Government of Harvard University in June 2009. He also received the Kennedy School Certificate in Public Policy and Management, having spent 11 months as an Edward A. Mason Fellow in Public Policy and Management from July 2008 to June 2009. In 2017, he enrolled for a doctorate degree in governance and policy analysis at UNU-MERIT in the Netherlands.

In 1982, El-Rufai founded El-Rufai & Partners, a quantity surveying consulting firm with three partners, which he managed until 1998. During the military juntas of 1983–1998, the firm received building and civil engineering consultancy contracts, including during the construction of Abuja. He also had management positions with telecommunications companies of AT&T and Motorola. After the death of military dictator Sani Abacha, Abdulsalami Abubakar began planning the peaceful transition of power. El-Rufai was appointed as an economic advisor on Abubakar’s team in 1998, resigning from his private sector positions to work primarily on issues with the World Bank, IMF, and other financial institutions.

On 29 May 1999, Abubakar transferred power to President Olusegun Obasanjo, who appointed El-Rufai as the director-general of the Bureau of Public Enterprises and secretary of the National Council of Privatisation, where he spearheaded the privatisation of several government-owned corporations under Vice President Atiku Abubakar’s supervision. In July 2003, he was sworn in as the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory. During his tenure, he transformed Abuja, previously plagued by corruption and deviation from the original master plan, through the establishment of the Abuja Geographic Information System.

El-Rufai accused two senators, Jonathan Zwingina and Ibrahim Mantu, of asking for a bribe of $414,000 before his nomination. Both denied the accusation, with Mantu calling him a 'pathological liar.' A public hearing revealed that El-Rufai may have been telling the truth. A year into his tenure, the Senate Public Accounts Committee accused him of paying excessive salaries without approval, demanding reimbursement. El-Rufai responded by saying, 'Silence is the best answer to a fool,' which angered the Senate, leading to a two-day strike. President Obasanjo apologized, but it was rejected. El-Rufai later apologized formally, stating he did not mean to insult the senators.

As Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, El-Rufai implemented radical reforms, including the Abuja Geographic Information System, a mortgage system, National ID card system, and the sale of Federal Government real estate in Abuja. Known as 'Mr. Demolition,' he oversaw forced evictions and demolitions of illegal buildings and squatter settlements, displacing over 800,000 people. He also revoked land owned by Joseph Igwe and granted pardons to prisoners in Kaduna State, including reducing one death sentence to life imprisonment.

In 2008, El-Rufai went into self-imposed exile and became a vocal critic of the Umaru Yar'Adua administration. He returned to Nigeria on 1 May 2010 and was questioned by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). In 2011, he joined the Congress for Progressive Change, supporting Muhammadu Buhari’s campaign. Justice Sadiq of the Federal Capital Territory High Court discharged and acquitted El-Rufai of all allegations by the EFCC in 2013. In 2013, he was appointed deputy national secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

In September 2014, El-Rufai declared his intention to run for Governor of Kaduna State, winning the APC primaries and the election with over one million votes, defeating the incumbent PDP candidate. In 2018, he again emerged as the APC’s governorship candidate and was re-elected on 9 March 2019, defeating his rival by over 200,000 votes. On 29 May 2015, El-Rufai was sworn in as the 22nd Governor of Kaduna State. His administration introduced the Treasury Single Account policy, recovering N24.7 billion from leakages and reducing the cost of governance.

He reformed the civil service, reduced ministries from 19 to 13, and appointed fewer commissioners and special advisers. El-Rufai also implemented education reforms, sacking over 22,000 unqualified primary teachers and hiring 25,000 qualified replacements. His School Feeding Programme provided free meals to 1.5 million pupils, raising primary school enrolment to over 2.1 million. He abolished school fees and levies, removing an annual financial burden of N3 billion from parents. On 28 March 2020, El-Rufai tested positive for COVID-19, placing a curfew in Kaduna State. He remained in isolation for 26 days, with Deputy Governor Hadiza Balarabe handling government business.

In 2020, the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) invited him to speak at its annual conference, but thousands of Nigerians signed a petition to revoke his invitation. The NBA disinvited him after pressure, citing eight reasons, including refusal to obey court orders and intimidation of journalists. El-Rufai sued the Open Bar Initiative and Dr. Chidi Odinkalu for defamation, awaiting judgment as of late 2025. In his final act as Governor, he granted pardons to 12 prisoners, including reducing one death sentence to life imprisonment. On 27 July 2023, President Bola Tinubu nominated El-Rufai for ministerial appointment, but his confirmation was withheld due to a negative security report by the SSS. El-Rufai withdrew and was not appointed.

In December 2023, he co-founded Afri-Venture Capital, a US$100 million venture capital firm in Abuja, promoting innovation and economic growth. He has hosted the Arewa Tech-Fest, an investment and innovation event in Northern Nigeria, with editions in Kano (2024) and Katsina (2025), with the third edition expected in Zamfara in 2026. In March 2024, El-Rufai met with Social Democratic Party (SDP) leaders, sparking speculation of a potential defection from the APC to the SDP ahead of the 2027 elections. On 10 March 2025, he officially defected from the APC to the SDP, citing misalignment with the party’s direction. After the ADC adopted as the coalition platform for the 2027 elections, El-Rufai expressed regret that the SDP did not meet the conditions for adoption and promised to join the ADC once bye-elections and off-season elections are completed by November 2025.

On 17 February 2026, Nasir El-Rufai was arrested by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over allegations of allegedly siphoning N423 billion. He was re-arrested shortly after being granted bail, with reports linking the operation to the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC). The arrest followed cybercrime charges alleging he unlawfully intercepted communications of National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu, violating the Cybercrimes (Amendment) Act, 2024, and the Nigerian Communications Act, 2003. In 2012, during rumors of a military invasion of a Fulani settlement, El-Rufai warned the military of consequences via Twitter: 'We will write this for all to read. Anyone, soldier or not that kills the Fulani takes a loan payable one day no matter how long it takes.'

In 2019, he dismissed election observer meddling claims, stating, 'The person who will come and intervene...will go back in body bags because nobody will come to Nigeria and tell us how to run our country.' In December 2021, International Christian Concern reported that El-Rufai had punished Christian protestors with communal house arrest during lockdowns, killing at least 111 villagers during targeted lockdowns in 2016 and 2020. In October 2021, El-Rufai updated the Religious Preaching Edict of 1984 to create the State Preaching Regulatory Council, which can approve or deny preachers' licenses. He tweeted in 2014 that Christians were behind Boko Haram, a claim disputed by Boko Haram’s Islamic ties. In 2023, he stated that non-Muslims in Southern Kaduna do not vote for his party, citing calculations to secure deputy positions. Christian elders condemned his remarks as divisive and bigoted.

El-Rufai has four wives: Hadiza Isma El-Rufai (writer and novelist), Asia Ahmad El-Rufai (lawyer), Aisha Garba El-Rufai, and Aichatou Assabe Djibril El-Rufai. His first wife, Hadiza, runs the Yasmin El-Rufai Foundation in memory of their daughter Yasmin, who died in 2011. El-Rufai is a devout Muslim. In 2002, President Olusegun Obasanjo conferred the national honor of the Officer of the Order of the Federal Republic (OFR) for his contributions to Nigeria’s construction industry. In 2005, the University of Abuja awarded him a Doctor of Science (Honoris Causa) in Engineering. In October 2022, President Muhammadu Buhari conferred the Commander of the Order of the Niger (CON) on him for exceptional governance of Kaduna State.