From Noah Ebije, Kaduna
No fewer than 300 leaders and members from the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP), in Kawo Ward, Kaduna North LGA, have decamped to All Progressives Congress (APC), the ruling party.
Kaduna State Governor Uba Sani is from Kawo ward. The defection of the former members of the opposition came in the wake of the efforts of former governor of the state, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, to build a coalition of parties against the APC ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Speaking at the grand reception of the decampees, Permanent Member, Kaduna State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), Dr Jamilu Haruna, described mass defection into the APC as clear indication that Governor Uba Sani has performed well.
Dr. Haruna who facilitated the reception ceremony said Governor Uba Sani had within two years in office delivered good governance to the people of Kaduna state, ranging from infrastructure development, agricultural revolution and rural transformation programmes.
His words: “This defection is not a surprise to us because all the genuine members of the opposition have seen the giant strides of Governor Uba Sani in security improvements, educational development, food security and overall wellbeing of the citizens.
“These achievements have stood our governor out even among his colleagues and endeared him to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, which is a clear indication that Kaduna stands to benefit more from the Federal Government for the overall benefit of the citizens.
“So, we welcome the decampees to our great party and we are assuring them that they will be respected, valued and they would be given opportunities to contribute their quota to the development of APC and the state at large.”
He also expressed appreciation to the Chief of Staff to Governor, Alhaji Sani Liman Kila, towards the success of the programme.
Receiving the decampees on behalf of Governor Uba Sani, Kaduna North Local Government Chairman of the APC, Alhaji Suleiman Wada Usman, expressed appreciation to the decampees for embracing the truth and joining the party that truly cares for the progress and development of Kaduna State.
He, however, assured the decampees of fair and equal treatment in the ruling party, saying that they would not be treated as second-class citizens in the party.
Leader of the decampees and former Kaduna Central senatorial aspirant of the PDP, Prof. Usman Muhammad, said he led 225 decampees from the PDP in Kawo, because they were convinced that Governor Uba Sani who is also from their constituency, has so far provided all inclusive governance.
He also said the PDP had made him and other chieftains redundant despite their level of education and experiences, just as the party had also sank deeply into crisis before expectation.
Muhammad, a professor of Political Science and expert in international relations however expressed hope that APC would not make them regret their decision to join the party, just as he called on Governor Uba Sani to bring more developmental projects to Kawo.