Niger APC on the Brink: Ex-Commissioners, Lawmakers and Grassroots Leaders Plot Mass Defection Ahead of 2027
The All Progressives Congress in Niger State is facing one of its most serious internal crises yet, with a broad coalition of former commissioners, ex-political appointees, sitting state lawmakers and ward-level party leaders said to be in advanced stages of planning a mass exit from the party.
Consultations across the state intensified in recent weeks, driven by what aggrieved members describe as deliberate political exclusion, marginalisation and a troubling concentration of influence in the hands of a small inner circle. The coalition reportedly spans all 25 local government areas — a geographic reach that, if the defection proceeds, would strike at the very roots of APC’s organisational structure in the state.
Who Is Involved and Why They Are Leaving
The disaffected group is notably broad in its composition. It includes former commissioners who served under the current governor, Mohammed Umaru Bago, as well as former appointees tied to his predecessor, ex-Governor and Niger North Senator Abubakar Sani Bello. That both camps are represented in the same coalition signals that this is not a straightforward factional dispute — it is a wider revolt against how the party is being run.
A source from within the Suleja Emirate bloc of the coalition, speaking anonymously given the sensitivity of the discussions, said the group was deliberately holding back its formal announcement until the APC releases its authentic list of candidates. The timing is deliberate. “This movement will shake the foundation of the APC in Niger State,” the source said. “Politics belongs to the people and not to one individual. Many loyal party members who laboured for the party’s success now feel alienated and ignored.”
The source confirmed that engagements with community leaders, political figures and ward-level structures were already well underway, with the group aiming to build what he described as a formidable coalition cutting across all political interests in the state.
A former chairman of Lapai Local Government Area, who also declined to be named, went further, confirming that stakeholders in his area had already concluded their plans to leave the APC. He warned that those who remained would likely turn against the party during the 2027 elections — a scenario that would compound the damage considerably.
The Plea to Tinubu and the National Chairman
Alhaji Ibrahim Idris, a former senior aide to ex-Governor Bello, broke ranks publicly and issued a direct appeal to President Bola Tinubu and APC National Chairman Professor Nentawe Yilwatda to intervene before the situation becomes irreversible.
“As it stands now, if the president or the national chairman do not quickly intervene, I doubt if there would be anything left in Niger APC after 2027,” Idris said. “This was the same party we laboured to build; it is unfortunately disintegrating under our watch, just for the selfishness of a microscopic few.”
His warning carries weight precisely because it comes from someone with deep roots in the party’s history in the state. This is not an outsider agitating — it is a party builder sounding the alarm from within.
What This Means for 2027
Political observers in Minna are not mincing words about the potential consequences. If the coalition follows through and formally decamps, the APC’s grip on Niger State — previously considered solid — could loosen significantly ahead of the next general elections.
“There is no political party that can afford to ignore its grassroots leaders and longstanding loyalists,” one analyst noted. “If these aggrieved stakeholders eventually leave the APC, it could significantly alter the political equation in Niger State and make the 2027 elections more competitive than previously anticipated.”
Preliminary discussions with leaders of other parties and emerging political movements are already said to be underway, though no formal platform has been publicly announced. The coalition appears to be playing its cards carefully, waiting for the right moment to maximise impact.
Meanwhile in Kano: Another Defection Story Takes Shape
Separately, Kano State Governor Abba Yusuf met with Senator Rufai Hanga of the Nigeria Democratic Congress at his Abuja office on Friday, 17 July 2026, as discussions around Hanga’s possible move to the APC continued to gather momentum. Senator Hanga, a known ally of Rabiu Kwankwaso, is said to be weighing his options after being passed over for several key positions within his current political orbit. No formal announcement has been made, but the meeting itself speaks volumes about the fluid nature of Nigeria’s political landscape as 2027 draws closer.