The political landscape in Kano shifted on Saturday as the state’s only senator elected on the platform of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, Rufa’i Hanga, defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC) alongside several prominent opposition figures and thousands of supporters.
Hanga, who represents the state Central Senatorial District, was formally received into the APC at the Sani Abacha Stadium, Kofar Mata, during the inauguration of the Tinubu Support Group 2.0 National Structure and State Executive Committees.
His departure is particularly significant because he was the only in the NDC, the party on whose platform former State Governor Rabiu Kwankwaso is serving as vice-presidential candidate for the 2027 election.
Hanga had first announced his resignation from the NDC in a letter dated August 3 and addressed to the party chairman of Dakata Ward. His subsequent admission into the APC was part of a larger wave of defections announced at the Kano gathering.
Among those received were former Kano State Governor Kabiru Gaya, factional NNPP chairman Mas’ud Doguwa, former Speaker of the Kano State House of Assembly Isyaku Danja and former PDP deputy governorship candidate Yusuf Danbatta.
Other defectors included NDC chieftain Ali Yako and several members of the party’s state executive committee, as well as Baraka Sani and former Ungogo Local Government Area chairman Badaru Umar.
The movement also drew members associated with the political camp of Nasiru Gawuna, the APC’s candidate in the 2023 Kano governorship election. Gawuna is widely expected to return to the APC after failing to secure the NDC governorship ticket.
The defectors were welcomed at an event attended by a strong contingent of APC leaders, including Kano State Governor Abba Yusuf, APC National Chairman Nentawe Yilwatda, former governor Abdullahi Ganduje, and Deputy Senate President Barau Jibrin.
The recent switches have added fresh momentum to the political realignment taking place in Kano ahead of the 2027 general elections, while established figures are unpredictably moving between parties as the contest for the presidency, governorship, and legislative seats gathers pace.
For the APC, the arrival of Hanga and other opposition figures expands its pool of experienced political actors in a state where electoral competition is traditionally intense.
But for the NDC, Hanga’s exit represents the loss of its sole senatorial representative from Kano and comes at a time when the party is positioning itself for the next electoral cycle.
The Saturday ceremony therefore carried significance beyond individual defections. It offered a public display of the shifting alliances that are beginning to define Kano’s political contest ahead of 2027.
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