Just In: Over 2,000 ADC Members Dump Party for APC in Kaduna Ahead of 2027 Election, Photos Surface
- No fewer than 2,000 ADC members in Kaduna State announced their defection to the ruling APC on Thursday at a press conference
- The defectors, led by a former ADC House of Assembly candidate, burned party T-shirts and face caps to mark their exit
- The group cited marginalisation of El-Rufai loyalists and the absence of a manifesto from ADC governorship candidate Isa Ashiru
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Legit.ng journalist Ridwan Adeola Yusuf has over 9 years of experience covering politics, elections, public affairs and governance in Nigeria and Africa.
Kaduna, Kaduna State - No fewer than 2,000 members of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) in Kaduna State have dumped the party for the All Progressives Congress (APC).
The estranged ADC members accused the opposition party of internal crises, marginalisation and a lack of direction ahead of the 2027 elections in Nigeria.
Source: Facebook
As reported by The Nigerian Tribune, the defectors made their announcement on Thursday, November 12, 2026, at the Kaduna State Council of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), where they also set ablaze T-shirts and face caps carrying the ADC logo as a public show of their break from the party.
The group was led by Ibrahim Khalil Dan Kasa, a former ADC House of Assembly candidate for Unguwan Sanusi Constituency. Per The Nation, it included members of the El-Rufai Boys Vanguard, Nasiriyya Youth Movement, former ADC candidates and aspirants, as well as party executives at ward and local government levels.
El-Rufai's 'loyalists' allege marginalisation
Dan Kasa said the decision followed what he described as a deliberate effort by the ADC's party machinery to shut out loyalists of former Governor Nasir El-Rufai from accessing party tickets. He pointed specifically to the Kawo and Doka Gabasawa State Assembly constituencies, alleging that credible aspirants from their camp were overlooked despite strong grassroots support and recommendations reportedly passed to the party leadership by El-Rufai himself.
"Despite our overwhelming presence and mobilisation on the ground, the party machinery made a deliberate calculation to deny tickets to credible aspirants from our camp," he alleged.
The group also accused elements within the campaign of ADC governorship candidate Isa Ashiru of exploiting their mobilisation efforts while undermining El-Rufai's political legacy. Ward executives, polling unit coordinators and youth organisers, they claimed, were left without logistics, security or welfare support, with Dan Kasa describing his group as "disposable cannon fodder" for an ungrateful political cabal.
ADC defectors fault Ashiru over missing manifesto
Another key grievance was the absence of a policy document from the Ashiru campaign. Dan Kasa said their camp had been aligned with the campaign for roughly seven months but had yet to receive a manifesto or development blueprint for Kaduna State.
He said:
"Seven months have passed, the election is almost here, and there is still no manifesto, no policy blueprint, and no plan."
ADC group speaks on Sani's performance
Explaining the move to the ruling party, Dan Kasa praised Governor Uba Sani's handling of Kaduna State, noting that his administration had completed more than 80 per cent of infrastructure projects initiated by the previous government. The group also commended the governor's approach to youth inclusion, religious and ethnic matters, and rural development across all 23 local government areas.
Dan Kasa confirmed that the group's grassroots structure had been formally dissolved within the ADC and folded into the APC, covering the El-Rufai Boys Vanguard, the Nasiriyya Youth Movement, former candidates, aspirants, party executives, and over 2,000 grassroots mobilisers.
See photos and video of the estranged ADC members in the X post below:
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DSS witness details El-Rufai's alleged $600k bribe
Earlier, Legit.ng reported that a forensic investigator with the Department of State Services (DSS) told a court that El-Rufai and some associates allegedly set aside $600,000 to pay Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) officials and intermediaries.
Segun Kayode, the first prosecution witness in the case, gave the testimony before Justice Darius Khobo at the Kaduna State High Court in Kawo. He said the alleged payments were split into two sums, $500,000 and $100,000, and that forensic audio recordings captured conversations involving El-Rufai and several suspected associates.
Source: Legit.ng
