Governor Uba Sani of Kaduna says the state is targeting three million votes for President Bola Tinubu’s reelection in 2027 General Elections.

Mr Sani said this on Saturday in Zaria while receiving former Kaduna chief of staff, Bashir Sa’idu, and other politicians who defected from the African Democratic Congress (ADC) to the All Progressives Congress (APC). 

The governor described the defection as a historic development, saying it demonstrated renewed unity within the APC ahead of the 2027 general elections.

He said the defectors included party executives, grassroots mobilisers, and other political stakeholders who had returned to the APC. 

Mr Sani assured the defectors that they would enjoy equal treatment and opportunities within the APC, irrespective of when they joined the party.

 “Our APC party has no distinction between those who came today and those who came yesterday. We treat everyone equally as one family,” he said.

The governor said political stakeholders in Kaduna State had resolved their differences and should “now focus on development and mobilising support for the party.”

He said Kaduna State had more than 4.4 million registered voters, adding that the administration would intensify grassroots mobilisation ahead of the elections. 

Mr Sani also said Mr Tinubu had promised to support the return of Rep. Abbas Tajudeen as speaker of the House of Representatives for a second term.

Earlier, Mr Sa’idu, the chief of staff to former Governor Nasir El-Rufai, said his decision to return to the APC followed disagreements within the ADC over party leadership and candidate selection. 

He alleged that the ADC’s internal processes had been hijacked by outsiders and a particular family, prompting members of his group to reconsider their political affiliation. 

Mr Sa’idu said the group had initially compiled lists of 200,000 members who returned to the APC, adding that more than 200,000 ADC card-carrying members had joined them.

Mr Sa’idu claimed that the ADC was dead in the state, insisting that the opposition no longer posed a significant challenge. 

He appealed to Mr Sani and the speaker to facilitate the rehabilitation of the Zaria-Pambeguwa-Saminaka Road, which he said had deteriorated significantly. 

Mr Sa’idu said the poor condition of the road had increased travel time and caused hardship for residents of the affected communities. 

(NAN)