Mass Defection Hits Bauchi APC as Senators, Reps, Aspirants Dump Ruling Party

The aftermath of the All Progressives Congress (APC) primaries in Bauchi State has sparked growing discontent, leading to the mass defection of both prominent chieftains and their supporters across the state, with two serving senators, a House of Representatives member, former Inspector General of Police, and scores of aspirants resigning from the ruling party. Lawmaker representing Bauchi South Senatorial District, Senator Shehu Buba Umar, has resigned from the APC and declared his membership of the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP). This comes days after his withdrawal from the APC governorship primary election, citing irregularities and violations of electoral guidelines. Also, the Senator representing Bauchi North, Samaila Kaila Dahuwa, has resigned from the APC after losing his return ticket, joining the PRP.

Buba cited the “absence of internal democracy, lack of fairness, marginalisation of genuine party members, and increasing disregard for the opinions and aspirations of grassroots supporters within the APC.” He said his decision to join the PRP came after extensive consultations with political associates, youths, women groups, party stakeholders, and supporters across Bauchi South Senatorial District and Bauchi State at large. Buba said the PRP remains a political platform built on the principles of justice, transparency, accountability, inclusiveness, and people-oriented leadership, with strong commitment to the democratic values enshrined in the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Buba explained that his movement to the PRP is aimed at strengthening democratic governance, protecting the interests of the common people, and providing effective and responsive representation for the citizens.

“Our people deserve better governance, better opportunities, and leadership that truly listens to their concerns. Politics should be about service to humanity, justice, development, and improving the living conditions of the masses,” Buba said. The Senator urged his supporters and political allies to join him in the PRP to continue the “collective struggle” for good governance, social justice, accountability, and sustainable development across Bauchi State. Barely 24 hours after parting ways with the APC, Buba clinched the PRP governorship ticket, with the PRP Deputy National Vice Chairman (North), Haruna Buhari, announcing him as the party’s sole cleared aspirant for the ticket.

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However, Buba’s defection and swift emergence as the PRP governorship candidate have not gone unchallenged. A Bauchi governorship aspirant on the PRP platform, Barrister Safiyanu Garba Idris, has questioned the eligibility and political status of Senator Shehu Buba following his recent defection from the APC. Addressing newsmen on Monday in Bauchi, Idris alleged that Buba remained actively involved in APC activities even after publicly announcing his resignation from the ruling party. According to him, the senator attended meetings of the APC after the date he reportedly claimed to have defected to the PRP. “Somebody who said he left the APC was still participating in APC meetings and activities,” he alleged. The aspirant further questioned how Buba emerged as the sole governorship candidate of the PRP shortly after withdrawing from the APC governorship contest, arguing that the development raised constitutional and procedural concerns regarding party membership and eligibility. Idris also accused some officials within the PRP of manipulating internal processes to favour selected individuals ahead of the 2027 governorship election. According to him, the situation could deepen internal divisions within the party if not properly addressed.

Among those who departed is the incumbent member representing the Jama’are/Itas-Gadau federal constituency in the House of Representatives, Hon. Rabilu Bala Kashuri, who announced his resignation with immediate effect. Kashuri, who sought reelection ticket but was unsuccessful, tendered his resignation from the ruling party in a letter addressed to the APC Chairman of Kashuri Ward in the Itas/Gadau Local Government Area. Similarly, the 2023 deputy governorship candidate and former member of the House of Representatives, Hon. Shehu Aliyu Musa, also resigned from the APC. Musa, who contested the APC ticket for the Bauchi South Senatorial District, cited “lack of purposeful leadership, unfair treatment of party members and lack of cohesion among leaders of the party.” Since the announcement of the results of the APC gubernatorial primaries, several aspirants and stakeholders have resigned from the APC, citing a lack of transparency and violations of internal democracy.

In a related development, former majority leader of Bauchi House of Assembly and aspirant for the Katagum Federal Constituency, Hon. Tijjani Mohammed Aliyu, resigned from the party, alleging that the primaries were marred by predetermined results, vote allocation, and gross violations of party guidelines. According to him, the exercise undermined the principles of internal democracy upon which the APC was founded. In a letter addressed to the Ward Chairman of the APC in Madangala Ward, Katagum Local Government Area, he wrote: “I write to formally notify you of my intention to resign my membership of the party (Membership No. APC 051203000049) in your ward, with immediate effect. This decision follows recent developments regarding party activities, particularly the conduct of the 2026 primaries for various elective positions. After careful observation and review, I am convinced that the process was marred by predetermined results, the outright allocation of votes, and non-compliance with the guidelines for the conduct of said primaries.”

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Another chieftain, Hon. Abubakar Dahuwa Abdulkadir, who holds the traditional title of Sarkin Yamman Katagum, also withdrew his membership from the party. He described the primaries as unfair, discriminatory, and contrary to democratic ethics. He alleged that the APC failed to conduct the planned direct primary election for the Azare/Madangala State Assembly constituency. Hon. Sulaiman Sunusi Lalaye, an aspirant who sought to represent the Bauchi Constituency in the State House of Assembly, announced his resignation from the APC. In a letter addressed to the Chairman of the APC in Makama/Sarkin Baki Ward, Bauchi Local Government Area, dated May 22, 2026, Lalaye stated that although he had been a member of the party since its formation, he decided to leave due to persistent irregularities and injustice within the organization. He formally notified the party of his decision to withdraw his candidacy for the State House of Assembly on the APC platform. Hon. Rabi’u Abubakar Bishi announced his resignation in a letter addressed to the APC Chairman of the Kangere/Turum Ward. “I am writing to inform you of my decision to resign from the All Progressives Congress. I have taken this step due to internal crises and injustice, among other issues, which I can no longer bear. This resignation will enable me to remain committed to my principles of fighting for good governance in our state,” Bishi said. Many aggrieved members alleged that no direct primaries were conducted in the state, insisting that candidates were merely handpicked through what they described as “selection and imposition.”

The crisis has been further inflamed by the outright rejection of the APC governorship primary results by the Bauchi Progressives Forum. The group has rejected the results announced by the Chairman of the Committee for the APC Governorship Primaries in Bauchi State, insisting that no election was conducted and that aspirants were instead pressured to step down. In a statement signed by its Chairman, Mallam Ibrahim Abdullahi, the group described the figures announced by the Primaries Committee as fictitious and an insult to the people of Bauchi State.

“There was no governorship primary election in Bauchi State. Let us not attempt to deceive Nigerians. The aspirants were invited by certain individuals and asked to step down for former Governor Muhammad Abubakar. They reluctantly agreed because they were not given the opportunity of a credible direct primary,” the statement said. “It is distasteful for the Chairman of the Primaries Committee to announce figures of votes that were neither cast nor counted.” The group further challenged the Committee to produce evidence that voting took place in any ward or local government area across the state. “We had agents across the state, and there was not a single vote cast or counted anywhere. There were no queues and no accreditation of voters. So where did these figures come from? We challenge the Committee to produce a single photograph showing party members queueing to vote anywhere in Bauchi State. Such evidence does not exist,” the group queried.

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Speaking further, Mallam Abdullahi said the development raised serious questions about the democratic credentials of the APC. “No APC member in Bauchi State who watched the video of those figures being announced would believe that the party truly represents democracy or progressive ideals. This is far removed from the principles upon which the party was founded, and it is deeply insulting to the people of Bauchi State,” he said. The Forum clarified that it was not disputing the emergence of Muhammad Abubakar as the APC governorship candidate, but rather the claim that he emerged through an election. “Muhammad Abubakar emerged as the ‘consensus’ candidate. Some aspirants initially opposed the arrangement and preferred a direct primary, but two eventually agreed, albeit reluctantly, to his emergence. What we expected was for the party to openly state that he emerged through ‘a forced consensus’, not to falsely claim that an election was conducted. That narrative is simply untrue,” the statement added.

The fallout from the APC primaries has extended beyond Bauchi State. A former Inspector General of Police, Abubakar Adamu, resigned his membership of the APC over his loss during the APC governorship primaries in Nasarawa State. Adamu formally submitted his letter of resignation on Monday to the executives of the Makama ward in Lafia, the state capital. He said, “Today I address my letter to you, the ward executives, especially the ward chairman, of my decision to resign from the All Progressives Congress with immediate effect. This decision was not taken lightly. However, recent developments within the party, especially the conduct of the governorship primary election processes in Nasarawa State, have made it difficult for me to continue with my political activities under the platform of the party.”

Adamu explained that internal democracy, fairness, transparency and equal opportunity for aspirants and members, which guided the affairs of any democratic political party, did not reflect the party’s principles. “I strongly believe that internal democracy, fairness, transparency and equal opportunity for aspirants and members guide the affairs of any democratic political party. Unfortunately, the events surrounding the primary election did not reflect this principle and have led to a loss of confidence in the party’s leadership and the processes in the state. After wide consultations with supporters, political associates and family members, I have decided to withdraw my membership to pursue my political aspirations through another platform,” he noted. His resignation sparked protests among his supporters, with many seen in viral videos online burning the broom, the symbol of the APC.

In Kano State, a similar defection from the ruling APC was witnessed as Mustapha Dawaki, a former member of the House of Representatives and erstwhile Chief of Staff to the APC National Chairman, Prof Nentawe Yilwatda, moved to the National Democratic Congress (NDC). Dawaki was officially received on Monday by a leader of the NDC and founder of the Kwankwasiyya movement, Rabiu Kwankwaso, during a meeting held at Kwankwaso’s Miller Road residence in Kano. The development comes barely one week after Dawaki reportedly lost his bid to secure the APC consensus ticket for the Dawakin Kudu/Warawa Federal Constituency seat. Confirming the defection in a statement on Monday, Kwankwaso’s media aide, Saifullahi Hassan, said the former APC stalwart had formally joined the NDC alongside his supporters. “Leader has today accepted the former Chief of Staff to the APC National Chairman, Mustapha Bala Dawaki, popularly known as Mai Gidan Ruwa, into the NDC Kwankwasiyya movement,” Hassan wrote in a Facebook post. Political observers described the defection as another major shake-up within Kano politics, especially as opposition parties and ruling party blocs intensify consultations and consensus arrangements ahead of the 2027 elections.

In Zamfara State, protests have continued to trail the outcome of the APC primaries. A Zamfara State senatorial aspirant for Zamfara North District, Aliyu Shinkafi, has petitioned the National Chairman of the party, Professor Nentawe Yilwatda, over what he termed as “imposition of Sahabi Alhaji Yau, as the sole candidate for the district.” Shinkafi described the exercise as an injustice and a flagrant disregard for the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 as Amended, Electoral Act 2026 and the constitution of the APC. He warned that Governor Dauda Lawal will be the major loser in what he called “conspiracy to exclude already cleared Senatorial aspirants from participating in the senate primaries in Zamfara State as the chances of APC winning the elections in the state is minimal.”

The mass defections sweeping through the APC in Bauchi, Nasarawa, Kano, and Zamfara States signal a significant political crisis for the ruling party ahead of the 2027 general elections. The loss of two serving senators, a former Inspector General of Police, a former House of Representatives member turned Chief of Staff to the APC National Chairman, and scores of aspirants across various levels represents a substantial erosion of the party’s grassroots political structures. The defectors’ allegations of “no direct primaries,” “selection and imposition,” “predetermined results,” and “outright allocation of votes” strike at the heart of the APC’s claim to internal democracy. The Bauchi Progressives Forum’s assertion that no election was conducted and that figures announced were “fictitious” is particularly damaging to the party’s democratic credentials. The fact that many defectors have found a ready home in the PRP and NDC suggests that opposition parties are capitalising on the APC’s internal crisis to strengthen their own structures ahead of 2027. For the APC leadership, the challenge now is whether it can contain the fallout, address the grievances of aggrieved members, or risk further defections that could weaken the party’s electoral prospects in key states.

Mass Defection Hits Bauchi APC as Senators, Reps, Aspirants Dump Ruling Party