A faction of supporters of former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai has defected from the African Democratic Congress to the All Progressives Congress, pledging to support Governor Uba Sani’s re-election bid in 2027.
The group, comprising members of the El-Rufai Boys Vanguard, Nasiriyya Youth Movement, former ADC candidates and party executives, also withdrew its support for the ADC governorship candidate, Isa Ashiru Kudan.
Led by Ibrahim Khalil Dan Kasa, a former ADC House of Assembly candidate for Unguwan Sanusi Constituency, the defectors announced their decision at a press conference held on Thursday at the Kaduna State Council of the Nigeria Union of Journalists.
The group claimed to represent more than 2,000 members and ward coordinators, although the figure has not been independently verified.
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Khalil said the decision followed alleged marginalisation, leadership failures and the denial of party tickets to members who had worked for the ADC.
He accused the party's coalition leadership of failing to recognise the contributions of the Nasiriyya Youth Movement and El-Rufai Boys Vanguard, despite their participation in rallies, grassroots mobilisation and online campaigns.
The group said it had dissolved its structures within the ADC and would integrate them into the APC, using its grassroots networks and digital platforms to mobilise support for Sani ahead of the 2027 governorship election.
Khalil also praised Sani’s administration, claiming that it had completed more than 80 per cent of infrastructure projects inherited from the previous government.
The ADC, however, played down the development, describing the defection as part of routine political movements and insisting that the departure of a faction of El-Rufai’s support group would not affect the party or its governorship candidate.
The development comes amid growing political realignments in Kaduna State ahead of the 2027 elections.
Bashir Sa’idu, a former Chief of Staff to El-Rufai, had earlier defected from the ADC to the APC. Following the move, Sani announced that the ruling party had increased its target for the 2027 governorship election in the state from two million to three million votes.
However, the political movement has not been entirely in favour of the APC. Professor Muhammad Sani Bello, who directed Sani’s 2023 governorship campaign, has also left the APC for the ADC.
El-Rufai and some of his allies have openly opposed Sani’s second-term ambition, setting the stage for a contest over political structures and grassroots support in the state.
It remains to be seen whether the latest defectors can deliver the numbers they claim or whether their departure will significantly affect El-Rufai’s political camp.
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