2027: Uba Sani targets 3 million votes in Kaduna as top El-Rufai allies defect to APC

Kaduna State Governor Uba Sani has announced a target of three million votes for the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the 2027 elections, following the defection of former Kaduna State Commissioner of Finance, Muhammad Bashir Sa’idu, and other prominent politicians from the African Democratic Congress (ADC).

Mr Sani announced the target on Saturday at a ceremony in Zaria to receive Mr Sa’idu and other defectors into the APC.

Mr Sa’idu, a former Chief of Staff and Commissioner for Finance under ex-Governor Nasir El-Rufai, claimed that more than 200,000 ADC members and supporters had joined the APC through his political group, Kaduna De-Initiatives.

Other prominent defectors include Jafaru Sani, a former commissioner for education under Mr El-Rufai and an ADC governorship aspirant, and former Senator Suleiman Abdu Kwari, who also served as commissioner of finance during the former governor’s administration.

The defections mark a significant political realignment in Kaduna ahead of the 2027 elections, particularly as several figures associated with Mr El-Rufai’s administration move to the party led by his successor.

Uba Sani raises APC’s vote target to three million

Speaking at the ceremony, Mr Sani said the APC had raised its target in Kaduna State from two million to three million votes, citing the growing number of supporters joining the party.

He said the state has 4.6 million registered voters, claiming 96 per cent have collected their Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs).

“Before now, we were promising to deliver two million votes, but we have now upgraded to three million votes, God willing. There are 4,600,000 registered voters in Kaduna State and 96% have received their voter cards,” he said.

The governor said the APC would intensify grassroots mobilisation, including door-to-door campaigns, to canvass support across the state.

“We will go to every nook and cranny of Kaduna State, go house-to-house to canvass for votes, to ensure victory for APC from top to bottom,” he said.

Mr Sani also linked the party’s electoral ambitions to the federal government’s projects and political appointments in Kaduna State, including the emergence of Tajudeen Abbas as Speaker of the House of Representatives.

“The president loves Kaduna because he has sited many projects in our dear State, he has given many citizens of the state political appointments, and so we should reciprocate by voting massively for APC in all elections,” he said.

He described Mr Sa’idu as a principled and trustworthy politician, saying he had anticipated his return to the APC.

“The decampee is a man of the people, and even when he went to ADC, we were confident that he would return home. He stands for justice. Malam Jafaru Sani is also someone who can be trusted. He is also a seasoned public servant,” Mr Sani said.

The governor further insisted that the APC offered equal opportunities to members, regardless of when they joined the party.

“I, as the Governor, House Speaker Tajudeen Abbas, the North West zonal Vice Chairman, Hon Garba Datti Babawo and all of us, none is more important than the other in our party. We are all equal, and everyone has the right to aspire to any position that he wants,” he said.

Sa’idu declares ADC dead in Kaduna

Mr Sa’idu said the ADC had lost political relevance in Kaduna after his group and other supporters left.

He said the Kaduna De-Initiatives had built the party’s structures from the ward to the state level but became dissatisfied with its leadership and candidate selection process.

“We discovered that the party was being teleguided by a family, a situation which we found unacceptable. So, we studied the situation and compared the list of ADC candidates who won the primaries with the APC candidates.

“We saw that there was no basis for comparison; the contrast between the ADC and APC candidates is very glaring,” he said.

Mr Sa’idu said the group subsequently convened an emergency steering committee meeting and resolved to return to the APC.

“So, we have returned home. And as of one month ago, about 100,000 of those who defected with us have returned. These were card-carrying members of ADC. Between then and now, over 100,000 defectors have also joined APC,” he said.

He claimed that no credible opposition remained in Kaduna State following the defections.

“The former Commissioner of Finance said that there is not a single bona fide politician remaining in ADC, adding that there is now no opposition in Kaduna State, following their defection because ‘we were the opposition’.”

He also predicted that the ADC would finish third in the state when the 2027 election results were announced.

Why Sa’idu and other El-Rufai allies left the ADC

The defections followed disagreements over the ADC’s governorship primary, in which Isah Ashiru emerged as the party’s candidate for the 2027 election.

Mr Ashiru secured 86,113 votes, while Mr Sani, who also contested the primary, came second with 29,580 votes. Mr Sani rejected the outcome, alleging irregularities.

Mr Sa’idu said his group grew dissatisfied with what it described as a small group’s influence over the party’s affairs and the quality of candidates produced during the primaries.

The dispute deepened divisions among politicians who had previously aligned with Mr El-Rufai and later joined ADC.

Mr Sa’idu, Mr Sani and Mr Kwari’s return to the APC has now brought several former associates of the ex-governor into the political camp of Mr Sani, who succeeded him in 2023.

From El-Rufai’s government to APC: Former allies change political camps

Mr Sa’idu’s defection is particularly significant given his previous position in Mr El-Rufai’s administration, where he served as Chief of Staff and Commissioner for Finance.

Mr Kwari also held the finance portfolio under the former governor, while Mr Jafaru Sani served as commissioner for education.

Their move to APC marks another shift in the political allegiances of figures who held prominent positions during Mr El-Rufai’s eight-year administration.

El-Rufai reflects on friends who abandoned him

Earlier, in a statement titled “My Relationships and the Aftermath,” Mr El-Rufai reflected on relationships with former colleagues, friends and associates, saying adversity had revealed the nature of some relationships.

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Although he did not name specific individuals, his remarks came amid political realignments involving people who had served in his administration or worked closely with him.

“Over the years, I have stood by people and for causes I believed in, sometimes in difficult circumstances and at considerable personal cost. I did so not in expectation of praise, gratitude or reciprocity, but because I believed it was right,” he wrote.

Mr El-Rufai said he did not regret supporting people or causes he believed in, even though some might not reciprocate when circumstances changed.

“I have no regrets about standing by people or for causes when I believed it was right to do so, and I bear no resentment towards anyone who chooses not to do the same for me,” he said.

His continued detention amid legal proceedings has coincided with the political repositioning of several former associates, including those who have now joined Mr Sani’s APC.

It remains to be seen how much the defections will affect the political balance in Kaduna State as parties prepare for the 2027 elections.