The national leader of the New Nigerian Peoples Party, NNPP, Rabiu Kwankwaso, has set conditions for joining any coalition or forming an alliance with any political party.

Kwankwaso said that although they are looking for a party to merge with ahead of the 2027 general election, such a party must be willing to surrender its presidential or vice-presidential ticket to him.
There is speculation that the former Minister of Defence is currently under pressure to join the African Democratic Congress, ADC.

ADC already has the likes of former Vice President Alhaji Aliko Dangote, former presidential candidate Peter Obi, and former Minister of Transportation Chibuike Amaechi, among others, who have declared interest in running for the presidency.
Kwankwaso is also said to be being lured by the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) to join and work for the return of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in 2027.

However, addressing his supporters on Saturday, Kwankwaso said that he would only join a party willing to hand him the presidential or vice-presidential ticket.
“We are looking for a party, but they must agree to give me, Rabiu Kwankwaso, a presidential or vice-presidential ticket,” he said in Kano.
Kwankwaso came a distant third in the 2023 presidential election, far behind President Tinubu, Atiku Abubakar, and Peter Obi.

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The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, candidate in the 2019 and 2023 elections for Ringim/Taura Federal Constituency, Hon. Gambo Ibrahim Gujungu, has defected to the ruling All Progressive Congress, APC, along with his supporters.

Hon. Gujungu had earlier tendered his resignation letter to the PDP and had not stated his decision to join any political party.
Gujungu officially announced his defection at an APC gathering held in his hometown, Gujungu Town, in Taura Local Government Area.

Receiving the decampees on behalf of the governor, Speaker of the Jigawa State House of Assembly, Hon Haruna Aliyu Dangyatin, said the party is ready to welcome opposition members into its fold.
He noted that the recent mass defection of opposition party members is a result of the good policies and programmes of the party at both national and state levels.

He, therefore, commended President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Governor Umar Namadi for the effective implementation of people-oriented policies under the APC-led administration.
The Speaker, however, welcomed Hon. Gujungu and his followers into the APC fold as a major boost to the party’s strength in Ringim/Taura Federal Constituency.
Speaking at the event, Hon. Gambo Ibrahim Gujungu said his decision to join the APC was driven by his desire to contribute to and benefit from the developmental strides being recorded by the APC-led governments at both the state and federal levels.

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The Chairman of the Nenadi Usman-led faction of the Labour Party in Rivers State, Gogo Wellington, says that party structures and organs across the states are expected to join its 2023 presidential candidate, Peter Obi, in the African Democratic Congress, ADC.

Wellington made the disclosure following Obi’s defection from the Labour Party to the ADC on Wednesday, alongside some LP stalwarts from the South-East.
The defection took place in Enugu State.

Speaking with our correspondent, Ifunanya Obeme-Ndukwe, Wellington explained that the party had been actively involved in opposition coalition talks, which he said had now been concluded.
According to him, the outcome of those discussions informed Obi’s decision to move to the ADC.

“The Labour Parry as it were, has been a part of the coalition discussions and as it is right now, those discussions have been concluded.
“That is what led to the movement of our principal, His Excellency, Peter Obi, formally into the ADC.
“It is expected also that the organs of the party across the various states will do likewise.”

Although he did not give a specific timeline for when other party structures would formally defect, Wellington said the process would be completed within a short period.
Addressing concerns over Obi’s defection to another political platform, Wellington, the leader of the Obedient Movement in Rivers State, attributed the move to unresolved internal issues within the Labour Party, noting that the focus of Obi and his supporters is to secure a viable platform for the 2027 general elections.
He expressed confidence in Obi’s ability to secure the ADC’s presidential ticket but added that even if that does not happen, the overriding objective of his supporters remains the rescue of Nigeria from its current challenges.

Wellington further stated that following Obi’s exit, his supporters no longer have a political stake in the Labour Party.
“We are all very much aware of the challenges that have bedeviled our principal’s political pursuit in the Labour Party.
“We’ve seen that the elements of destruction have sown their seeds within the labor party.
“That is what have led to the challenges that we’ve been having in labor party for over a year plus now.
“So, for His Excellency to have at first started conversation with members of the coalition which came from other political parties too; it was a welcome development to us because, we were looking for a viable platform to pursue the electoral pursuit of 2027.
“As it stands right now, we’re not worried, we’re not perturbed. I believe we have the capacity to take the ticket and even if the ticket doesn’t even come to us, right now what is principle to us is rescue Nigeria from the current situation that we’re in.
“So if our leader decides that he is moving to the ADC, we do not see any reason to stay behind.”

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Governor Bala Mohammed of Bauchi State has alleged that the Federal Government is using the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, against him because he refused to join the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC.

Mohammed said this on Wednesday in Bauchi during the signing of the 2026 appropriation bill into law.
The governor decried that one of his commissioners is currently being detained by the EFCC.

“As a governor, someone who is the head of the opposition, my commissioner has been kept and will not be released by the EFCC.
“Even when I have immunity as a governor, my name was stupendously mentioned in a motion in a court of law in Nigeria. Me, Bala Mohammed,” he said.

He said that the APC-led federal government thinks it can use the courts and institutions of government, like the EFCC, to persecute and prosecute Nigerians who are not within their own party.
According to him, no amount of harassment would force him to join the APC.

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The Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Benjamin Kalu, has urged Abia State Governor, Alex Otti, to stop sitting on the fence and join the All Progressives Congress, APC, saying the governor would receive the full support of Abia APC members if he defected.

Kalu made the call while addressing APC members and his supporters during a town hall meeting and food distribution held at his country home in Bende, Abia State, on Monday. He said the governor should openly declare for the APC if he was truly supporting President Bola Tinubu.
The Deputy Speaker, who told party members that he had not declared his intention to contest the 2027 Abia State governorship election, said he was still consulting, listening to the national leadership of the APC and ‘waiting for signal.’

He said: “I want to use this opportunity again to invite Governor Alex Otti to join our party. If he comes to our party, we will support him but if they are in another party and they are supporting President, they want to work for the President, fa-fa-fa-, foul!”
Kalu further said: “If you want to work for the President, join APC. The President will not leave APC and support non-APC member.”

He alleged that he was being insulted daily by hired social media agents recruited in Abia State, adding that his activities, including empowerment programmes, were being wrongly monitored and misinterpreted as a 2027 governorship ambition.
The Deputy Speaker said the APC grassroots structures he was establishing across different parts of Abia State would secure total victory for President Bola Tinubu and the party at large.

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The New Nigerian Peoples Party, NNPP, has appealed to Governor Abba Yusuf of Kano State not to defect to the All Progressives Congress, APC.

The Chairman of the NNPP in Kano State, Suleiman Dungurawa, made this appeal at a press briefing on Monday in Kano.
Dungurawa also debunked speculations that some party members were planning to create enmity between the governor and the national leader of the party, Rabiu Kwankwaso.

The Kano NNPP chairman further advised residents of the state to remain calm and continue with their lawful activities.
He, however, warned party members not to append their names to documents allegedly being circulated by mischief makers.

“On behalf of all of us collectively, we once again appeal to them, for the sake of Allah and the Prophet, not to leave this party and not to defect to the party that we have opposed and which the masses and other voters have rejected.
“We are aware of the developments happening here in Kano State concerning some individuals who intend to defect to the APC.
“I want to make it clear that the Kano State party, the national party, and our national leader, Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, together with other leaders, do not approve of what is happening.”

Recall that the Director-General of the Protocol Directorate of Kano State Government House, Abdullahi Rogo, had said that citizens of the state and voters have agreed that Rabiu Kwankwaso and Governor Abba Yusuf should defect to the APC from the NNPP.

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The 2023 vice-presidential candidate of the Social Democratic Party, SDP, Yusuf Buhari, has defected to the All Progressives Congress, APC.

Buhari defected alongside the party’s governorship candidate in Kano State, as well as local government contestants and members of the working committee.

They claimed their defection was motivated by President Bola Tinubu’s successes in government.

Addressing the defectors, Deputy President of the Senate, Barau Jibrin, stated that attempts by some politicians to use SDP as a platform to compete against APC in 2027 would be futile.

This development comes just days after the immediate past governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai, left APC to join SDP.

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