Defections: Lone Kano NDC senator, former governor join APC

The ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kano State has received Rufa’i Hanga, the senator for the Kano Central District.

Mr Hanga was the only senator from the state in the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), where former Kano governor Rabiu Kwankwaso is the vice presidential candidate for the 2027 election.

Mr Hanga’s defection to the APC on Saturday followed his resignation from the NDC, which he announced in a letter addressed to the party’s Dakata Ward chairman dated 3 August.

Alongside Mr Hanga, the APC welcomed several prominent opposition chieftains and thousands of their supporters.

Among the defectors were former Kano State Governor Kabiru Gaya, factional Chairman of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) Mas’ud Doguwa, former Speaker of the Kano State House of Assembly Isyaku Danja, and former PDP deputy governorship candidate Yusuf Danbatta.

The defectors were officially received during the inauguration of the Tinubu Support Group (TSG) 2.0 National Structure and State Executive Committees at the Sani Abacha Stadium in Kofar Mata, Kano.

The event drew top political figures, including Kano State Governor Abba Yusuf, APC National Chairman Nentawe Yilwatda, former governor Abdullahi Ganduje, and Deputy Senate President Barau Jibrin.

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Other notable opposition figures formally received into the APC included Baraka Sani, NDC chieftain Ali Yako—alongside several members of the NDC state executive committee—and former Chairman of Ungogo Local Government Area, Badaru Umar.

The defectors also included members from the political camp of Nasiru Gawuna, the APC’s 2023 governorship candidate, who is widely expected to rejoin the APC after failing to secure the NDC governorship ticket.

This influx of high-profile political figures deepens the ongoing realignments in Kano ahead of the 2027 general elections.

The shift is expected to strengthen the APC’s political structure in the state as preparations intensify for the upcoming presidential, governorship, and National Assembly polls.