El-Rufai’s former ally Muhammad Bashir Sa’idu dumps ADC for APC, claiming more than 200,000 members have defected ahead of 2027
A former Kaduna State Commissioner for Finance and ex-Chief of Staff to former Governor Nasir El-Rufai, Muhammad Bashir Sa’idu, has defected from the African Democratic Congress to the All Progressives Congress.
Also read: Ohanaeze Ndi Igbo Endorses Tinubu, Yayi for 2027
Sa’idu, who was a prominent ally of El-Rufai, announced his return to the APC on Saturday in Zaria alongside former ADC governorship aspirant Jafaru Sani, former Senator Suleiman Abdu Kwari and other defectors.
The former commissioner said his decision followed what he described as the loss of a credible opposition structure within the ADC in Kaduna State.
Sa’idu alleged that a small group of individuals who joined the ADC after its initial formation had taken control of the party.
“We built ADC with our strength, sweat and blood, but unfortunately, a few individuals who later joined the party hijacked it. We discovered that the party was being teleguided by a family, a situation which we found unacceptable,” he said.
He did not identify the family he referred to.
Sa’idu also claimed that more than 200,000 card-carrying ADC members had moved to the APC with his group.
He said the Kaduna De-Initiatives, which he led, was responsible for building ADC structures from the ward level to the state level before the group decided to leave.
According to him, about 100,000 card-carrying ADC members had defected with the group as of a month earlier, while another 100,000-plus had allegedly joined the APC since then.
“We have returned home. As of one month ago, the number of card-carrying ADC members who defected with us was about 100,000. Between then and now, over 100,000 more defectors have also joined the APC,” Sa’idu claimed.
He said the group compared candidates who emerged from the ADC primaries with their APC counterparts before holding an emergency steering committee meeting and deciding to return to the ruling party.
Sa’idu subsequently dismissed the ADC’s prospects in the 2027 elections, claiming the party would finish third.
“There is not a single bona fide politician remaining in the ADC. There is now no opposition in Kaduna State because we were the opposition,” he said.
Welcoming Sa’idu and the other defectors, Kaduna State Governor Uba Sani described the development as significant for the APC.
Sani praised Sa’idu as a principled and trustworthy politician, saying he had remained confident that the former commissioner would eventually return to the APC.
“He is a man of the people, and even when he went to the ADC, we were confident that he would return home. He stands for justice. Jafaru Sani is also someone who can be trusted and is a seasoned public servant,” the governor said.
The governor assured the returning members that they would receive equal treatment within the APC, regardless of when they joined the party.
“The person who joins today, the one who joined yesterday and the one who will join tomorrow, we are all one,” he said.
Sani also said no individual member, including himself, Speaker of the House of Representatives Tajudeen Abbas and APC North-West Zonal Vice-Chairman Garba Datti Babawo, was more important than another in the party.
The governor also increased the APC’s projected vote target in Kaduna State ahead of the 2027 elections.
Sani said the party had moved from an earlier target of two million votes to three million.
“Before now, we were promising to deliver two million votes, but we have now upgraded to three million votes, God willing.
There are 4.6 million registered voters in Kaduna State, and 96 per cent have received their Permanent Voter Cards,” he said.
Sani said the APC would conduct house-to-house campaigns in support of President Bola Tinubu and other party candidates.
He urged Kaduna residents to support Tinubu’s re-election, citing Federal Government projects and appointments involving indigenes of the state.
Also read: Ohanaeze Ndi Igbo Endorses Tinubu, Yayi for 2027
The latest defection adds another political development to the build-up to the 2027 elections, with parties and political groups continuing to reposition ahead of the polls.
