The National Chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, has declared that more governors are on their way to join the party.

This is coming in less than 24 hours after the entire political structure of Delta State defected to the party.

The National Chairman made the remarks at his residence on Thursday in Abuja, while officially receiving key members of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) from Kano State into the party.

The defectors were led by Senator Kawu Sumaila and the immediate past Secretary to the Kano State Government, Dr. Abdullahi Baffa Bichi.

Among the new APC entrants are serving and former members of the House of Representatives and the Kano State House of Assembly.

In his excitement, Ganduje expressed optimism that the 2027 general elections are already secured for the ruling party.

Addressing reporters after a closed-door meeting, Ganduje said:
“In APC, we believe in our President, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, we believe in his economic reforms, we believe in his Renewed Hope Agenda and part of the political renewed hope agenda is trying to canvass for more followership into the party.

“We started by democratically electing governors, especially in Edo State, who was in PDP, we contested, we succeeded in winning the election, the state is now in APC.

“Now, there is another channel that has been opened through advocacy, through dialogue, through convincing some highly and even elected governors to come into the party. And you can see what has happened now.

“The governor of Delta State is now in APC, including his cabinet, including all the members of the state assembly and House of Representatives, and the timber and caliber of PDP, now in APC, even including the former vice presidential candidate coming into our party.

“So you can see that we are expanding. I don’t want to reveal our secret, but what I’m telling you is that for APC 2027 is a done deal.”

When asked to confirm speculations about more governors defecting to the APC, Ganduje responded affirmatively, “Yes, more governors are coming into APC, I assure you, and places where we have election, APC Insha Allah will win those elections.”

Senator Sumaila, the leader of the defecting group, pledged loyalty to the APC and assured the leadership of his team’s commitment to the success of the party both in Kano and nationally.

On the implications of their defection, he stated:
“I will refer you to 2023 general election. Go and check the results. I mean the presidential, senatorial, and House of Representatives elections, where we contested the same day, the same polling unit with Kwankwaso. That will give you the answer to your question.”

Prominent among the defectors from Kano State are: Rt. Hon. Kabiru Alhasan Rurum (Rano/Kibiya Federal Constituency), Hon. Abdullahi Sani Rogo, Rt. Hon. Zubairu Hamza Massu (Kano State House of Assembly), Dr. A.B. Baffa Bichi (former SSG), Hon. Mohd Digol, Hon. Abbas S. Abbas, Hon. Sha’aban Ibrahim Lawal (former governorship candidate), Hon. Badamasi Ayuba Danbatta, and Hon. Idris Dankuwa.

The proposed opposition coalition spearheaded by former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has declared that the wave of defections by opposition governors to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) will not derail its mission to provide Nigerians with an alternative platform ahead of the 2027 elections.

Reacting to the defection of Delta State Governor and the entire Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) structure in the state to the APC on Wednesday, coalition leader Salihu Moh. Lukman said the move was anticipated and poses no threat to the coalition’s objective.

Lukman, a former member of the National Working Committee (NWC) of the APC, told journalists in Abuja that the coalition remains focused on its goal of rebuilding a credible political alternative.

He stated, “We have gone far, and what has happened in terms of some governors and some leaders moving into APC is not going to distract us at all. Not long from now, the full details of the coalition will be unveiled to Nigerians. And the structure and the strategy in terms of how the election will be contested will be clarified.”

Describing the defections as unsurprising, Lukman said the internal disarray within the PDP had made such moves predictable.

“First, I think anybody who will say this is not unexpected, will only be deceiving himself. The signals have been there, that some governors are going to decamp. It’s not just one but some governors.

“You also know that the situation in PDP, the party is clearly a shadow of its own self. Although we acknowledge there are people, there are leaders in PDP who are optimistic they can rescue the party. But if you remember, when the governors issued a statement against the Coalition, what was our response? Our response was that many of them are working for Asiwaju, and shortly after that, you saw the statement from Akwa Ibom state governor, and of course the Delta governor. It’s not only him, if you check the comments, there are many more that are being expected. And on two sides, on the side of people who genuinely worry for the country, are expressing fear about a one-party state.”

Lukman emphasized that the coalition would not welcome defectors blindly, but would assess each based on their political track record.

“I can tell you for certain, we are not going to produce a new political structure that will be blind or ignorant of the character of politicians. Anybody coming in will be related to, based on their own past trajectory. So, if truly we want to rescue the country, we are not talking of rescuing the country as just defeating Asiwaju and APC.

“We want to correct all the mistakes and shortcomings from the Buhari administration to the Asiwaju administration, and we want to restore the aspiration of Nigerians to produce a stronger and greater country, produce leaders that they will be proud of. That is what the coalition is all about. And if anybody sees it differently, we are going to correct all of that,” he said.

The coalition insists it will remain committed to its objective of rebuilding trust and offering Nigerians a viable democratic choice.