Muhammad Sa’idu and Others Join APC in Kaduna

A former Kaduna State Commissioner for Finance, Muhammad Sa’idu, has declared the African Democratic Congress (ADC) dead in the state. He made this announcement on Saturday in Zaria after he and thousands of supporters joined the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Sa’idu spoke at a ceremony to welcome him and other ADC members into the APC. He claimed that over 200,000 members had switched to the ruling party.

The former commissioner, who was Chief of Staff under Nasir El-Rufai, left the ADC along with Jafaru Sani, a former ADC governorship hopeful, and former Senator Suleiman Abdu Kwari, among other political figures.

Sa’idu stated that his group, called Kaduna De-Initiatives, had built the ADC’s structure from the ward to the state level. He said they left the party because some individuals allegedly took over the party.

"We built ADC with our strength, sweat and blood, but unfortunately, a few individuals who later joined the party hijacked it. We discovered that the party was being teleguided by a family, a situation which we found unacceptable. So, we studied the situation and compared the list of ADC candidates that won the primaries with those of the APC. We saw that there was no basis for comparison; the contrast between the ADC and APC candidates is very glaring," he said.

He added that the group held an emergency meeting and decided to return to the APC, saying they had helped build the party before moving to the ADC.

"We have returned home. As of one month ago, the number of card-carrying ADC members who defected with us was about 100,000. Between then and now, over 100,000 more defectors have also joined the APC," he claimed.

Sa’idu also said that the ADC no longer had any credible political figures in Kaduna State. He insisted that the defectors made up the opposition in the state.

"There is not a single bona fide politician remaining in the ADC. There is now no opposition in Kaduna State because we were the opposition," the former commissioner stated.

He predicted that the ADC would end up in a distant third place during the 2027 elections.

Welcoming the new members, Kaduna State Governor Uba Sani called their return to the APC a significant political event for the state and the country.

The governor described Sa’idu as a principled and trustworthy politician. He said he always believed the former commissioner would come back to the APC.

"He is a man of the people, and even when he went to the ADC, we were confident that he would return home. He stands for justice. Jafaru Sani is also someone who can be trusted and is a seasoned public servant," Sani said.

The governor assured the new members that the APC provided equal opportunities for everyone, no matter when they joined.

"The person who joins today, the one who joined yesterday and the one who will join tomorrow, we are all one," he said.

Sani emphasized that no party member was more important than another, including himself, Speaker of the House of Representatives Tajudeen Abbas, and the APC North-West Zonal Vice-Chairman, Garba Datti Babawo.

He said every member had the right to aim for any position within the party.

The governor revealed that the APC had raised its vote target in Kaduna State from two million to three million for the 2027 general elections.

"Before now, we were promising to deliver two million votes, but we have now upgraded to three million votes, God willing. There are 4.6 million registered voters in Kaduna State, and 96 per cent have received their Permanent Voter Cards," he said.

Sani mentioned that the party would start house-to-house campaigns across the state to gather support for President Bola Tinubu and other APC candidates. He urged residents to support the APC at all levels, highlighting Federal Government projects and political appointments for indigenes of the state as reasons to back the President's re-election bid.