List of Nigerian Governors Remaining in Opposition After Kano Governor Defected to APC
- Kano Governor Abba Yusuf defects to APC, reducing opposition power in Nigeria's political landscape
- Prominent PDP governors, including Fintiri and Makinde, maintain loyalty amid ongoing defections to the APC
- APC now controls 29 out of 36 states, solidifying its political dominance ahead of the 2027 elections
Legit.ng journalist Adekunle Dada has over 8 years of experience covering basic and tertiary education in Nigeria and worldwide
FCT, Abuja - The number of governors in the opposition camp has reduced following the defection of Kano State Governor Abba Yusuf to the ruling APC.
Legit.ng reports that Governor Yusuf dumped the New Nigeria People's Party (NNPP) for the All Progressives Congress (APC)on Monday, January 26, 2026.
Source: Facebook
The Nigerian political scene has shown that power has really moved to the ruling APC after controlling 29 out of the 36 states of the federation.
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has struggled to regain its ground after losing some of its governors to the APC.
However, some governors have refused to defect to the ruling party.
- Ahmadu Fintiri (PDP) - Adamawa State
Ahmadu Fintiri is the current Governor of Adamawa State. He is a strong member of PDP.
He won the 2019 gubernatorial election, and he is serving his second term.
Fintiri has never changed political party to date and has remained a loyal PDP member.
The governor has repeatedly rejected the rumour that he wants to defect to the ruling APC.
- Bala Muhammed (PDP) - Bauchi State
Bala Mohammed is the current governor of Bauchi State.
He was declared the governor on March 26, 2019, after defeating the sitting governor, Muhammad Abubakar of the APC.
- Seyi Makinde (PDP) - Oyo State
On Thursday, January 22, 2026, Governor Seyi Makinde met President Bola Tinubu to "discuss issues of governance".
Makinde told State House journalists after the meeting that he is comfortable with PDP and has no plan to leave the party.
There are rumours that Makinde is eyeing the PDP presidential ticket for the 2027 general elections.
- Dauda Lawal (PDP) - Zamfara State
On June 9, 2025, Governor Dauda Lawal strongly rejected calls for him toleave the PDP for the APC.
The Minister of State for Defence, Bello Matawalle, publicly asked Governor Lawal to change parties.
Dauda defeated the sitting governor, Bello Matawalle, to emerge the winner in the Zamfara governorship election in March 2023.
- Ademola Adeleke (Accord) - Osun State
Ademola Adeleke recently deumped the PDP to the Accord party ahead of the 2026 gubernatorial election in Osun State.
The current governor of Osun State was a long-time PDP member, where he won a Senatorial seat in 2017 and the governorship in 2022.
Due to "persistent leadership wahala" in the national PDP, he formally resigned from the PDP in November 2025 and joined Accord (A).
- Charles Soludo (APGA) - Anambra State
Charles Soludo resigned from the PDP in 2013 to join the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA).
He has remained in APGA ever since, winning his first term as Anambra governor in 2021 and a second term in November 2025.
- Alex Otti (Labour Party) - Abia State
Alex Otti is serving his first term as Governor of Abia State.
Otti has moved between parties before, first, when he contested the governorship elections in 2015 and 2019 under APGA.
He later briefly joined APC before defecting to the Labour Party for the May 2022 election, where he won the Abia State 2023 governorship election.
29 APC states across 6 geo-political zones
Legit.ng earlier reported that the All Progressives Congress (APC) now controls 29 out of 36 Nigerian states amid rising political dominance.
Kano State Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf is the latest governor to defect to the ruling APC ahead of the 2027 elections.
Full breakdown of APC-controlled states across Nigeria's six geopolitical zones revealed.
Source: Legit.ng
