Defections, PDP’s bumpy road to 2027

From Sola Ojo, Abuja

For politicians who know their onions, North-West Nigeria is not a voting region to joke with due to its population, political awareness and voting strength. Political analysts have, over time, stressed that the region has the highest number of votes.

Going by the recent electoral data, the region was said to have had the highest number of Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) collected. The number, is significantly higher than that of the South-West.

So, whatever happens in Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Sokoto, Zamfara and Jigawa States, has serious implications on the political landscape of the country, political pundits assert.

While the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), North-West Zone was recently having its quarterly executive council meeting at Hotel Seventeen, Kaduna, some of its members were being welcomed into the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) at Murtala Square, about 500 metres away from the venue of their meeting.

Defections, Daily Sun gathered, is not new to politicians. However, in this case, there appears to be some kind of drama to watch in the weeks, months and years to come, especially as die-hard members of PDP from Southern Kaduna have now pitched their tents with APC, the development that may change the voting pattern in the area in the next elections. According to the new entrants, their decision to join the APC was because the Kaduna State Governor, Senator Uba Sani, is “operating an open-door policy.”

In Kebbi State, the lawmaker representing Koko Besse/Maiyama, Salisu Koko, defected from the PDP to the ruling APC, a move seen as another blow to the PDP in the zone, which has experienced several defections in recent times.

In Kaduna State, 50 persons officially defected from PDP to APC including former Kaduna State Governor, Mukhtar Ramalan Yero, an erstwhile Senator who represented Kaduna North in the 8th Assembly, Suleiman Uthman Hunkuyi, a Senator who represented Kaduna South in the 8th and 9th Assembly, Danjuma Tela La’ah, Senator, who represented Kaduna Central in the 8th Assembly, Shehu Sani and 46 others and their followers defected majorly from PDP to APC.

Understandably, the likes of Shehu Sani and Hunkuyi were eased out of APC by the former Governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai, over their refusal to give their consent to a multi-million-dollar loan request, a development that caused a sharp division between them and the then Governor El-Rufai.

In Southern Kaduna, since 1999, the PDP has been a dominant political party, and every right-thinking politician knows this. For example, the PDP has given the area more infrastructure development, like road networks and more political representation, to sons and daughters of Southern Kaduna.

While some see the recent defections as the departure of paperweight politicians from the party, others see it as a big blow to the party in the North-West, especially in the Kebbi and Kaduna States.

In an exclusive interview with Daily Sun, the Kano-born political figure and North-West Vice Chairman of the PDP, Senator Bello Hayatu Gwarzo, described those who exited his party as those who cannot win elections.

He noted that “in politics, when the unexpected comes to you, it is your conviction to heartily accept it or do otherwise, and this is clearly what is happening in politics. Some of those defecting, have lost the election, and they could not wait to contest again. Politics requires patience. If you are patient, you will be able to achieve what you want to achieve”, he said.

When asked if he is not bordered about the PDP members who are defecting to the ruling APC, he said, “the political weight of whoever leaves PDP will be determined by who he is in his constituency. It is not by name or previous position; it is about who the voters see. Some of them cannot contest and win elections if they count them together.

“I won election four times as a Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, from Kano. I was in the Senate for 16 years. I stand down on my own, not being defeated. In the meeting we had in Kaduna for the first time in 2025, there were members of the Board of Trustees (BoT) in attendance. As a matter of fact, the Secretary of the BoT was in attendance at that meeting.

“Again, in that meeting, we have members of the National Executive Council (NEC). We have senior members of the National Working Committee (NWC). So, whatever decision we take here has the power to influence the decision at the national level.

“Normally, in all political parties, there are issues. Even in APC, there are issues. The only thing is that Tinubu has the government in his pocket. As a major opposition party, Nigerians are looking up to the PDP, we are going to correct our anomalies. We are going to correct ourselves, and by God’s grace, we will take over government in 2027”, he said.

Speaking in the same vein, a former Governor of Sokoto State, Senator Aminu Tambuwal, accused members of PDP who defected to the ruling APC of doing so because of “stomach infrastructure” and not in the interest of Nigerians.

He questioned the integrity of politicians who defected to the APC, saying that they are not driven by a desire to serve the people but rather by hunger and lack of self-control.

“People leave the party for different reasons. What I have been observing in the past is that defections are not in the interest of the people but based on stomach infrastructure. I said that because if we are talking of defection in the interest of the people, I believe you will not go to APC.

“If you are a politician with conscience, with the current policies being driven by APC and current economic conundrum that APC has driven Nigeria into, hardship across the country and abysmal performance of Tinubu administration, there is nothing attractive outside stomach infrastructure”, he said.

That statement has since attracted serious backlash from APC, describing Tambuwal as “a kettle, calling pot, black,” having also defected on several occasions from one political party to the other.

Meanwhile, the Kaduna State Chapter of PDP has strongly condemned the recent defections of its members to the ruling APC.

According to the Publicity Secretary, PDP, Kaduna State, Maria Dogo, the defections, particularly by serving legislators elected on the platform of the PDP platform, were a “brazen betrayal” of the trust placed in them by the people.

“While we acknowledge the constitutional rights of every Nigerian to freedom of association, we view these defections as unacceptable. Consequently, we assure the people of Kaduna State, particularly those from the affected constituencies, that the PDP leadership will invoke the provisions of the constitution to recover our mandate, as there is no division or split in our party leadership at the national level.

“According to Sections 68(1)(g) and 109 of the Constitution, serving legislators who defect to another party must vacate their seats. We urge the Speakers of the House of Representatives and the Kaduna State House of Assembly to declare the seats of these defectors vacant and notify the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to conduct bye-elections.

“The PDP remains unshaken by these defections and also the preferred choice of the vast majority of the people of Kaduna State. Our party’s popularity was evident in the last local government council elections, where the people stood by us in rejecting the APC’s attempt to impose its candidates, leading to the shameless announcement of candidates who couldn’t even vote for themselves, as winners.

“The stark reality is that some of the defectors are spent forces or overambitious politicians who either lost in the PDP’s zoning arrangements in their constituencies or lost primaries in 2022 and have been secretly working for the APC.

“Their defections, therefore, is a desperate attempt to secure automatic tickets in 2026, as the APC doesn’t hold primaries. We advise the governor and the Kaduna State government to stop wasting taxpayers’ money on elaborate receptions for defectors. Instead, they should focus on delivering the dividends of democracy, which have eluded the citizens since the inception of this administration.

“The truth is, our people are yearning for a return to the PDP years when the economy thrived, and citizens could afford their basic needs. Therefore, no number of defections can save the APC-led government from its imminent exit in 2027”, she said.

Meanwhile, there has been speculations that five governors elected on the platform of PDP including Similayi Fubara of Rivers State, were planning defection to APC ahead of the 2027 round of elections. Will PDP survive this gale of defections? Only time will tell.

With the APC appearing to be having small wins here and there, it is clear that the PDP needs to regroup and reassess its strategy to remain competitive because its ability to survive these defections would depend on its capacity to address internal conflicts, rebuild trust among its members, and present a united front ahead of the 2027 round of elections.

“Meanwhile, there has been speculations that five governors elected on the platform of PDP including Similayi Fubara of Rivers State, were planning defection to APC ahead of the 2027 round of elections. Will PDP survive this gale of defections? Only time will tell.

With the APC appearing to be having small wins here and there, it is clear that the PDP needs to regroup and reassess its strategy to remain competitive because its ability to survive these defections would depend on its capacity to address internal conflicts, rebuild trust among its members, and present a united front ahead of the 2027 round of elections.”