The African Democratic Congress in Katsina State has been thrown into fresh turmoil following the resignation of two prominent governorship aspirants who contested the party’s 2026 governorship ticket.

The two politicians, former Katsina State Secretary to the Government, Dr Mustapha Muhammad Inuwa, and former Director-General of the Department of State Services, Lawal Musa Daura, announced their exits separately on Sunday, August 9, 2026.

While Inuwa defected to the ruling All Progressives Congress with thousands of his supporters, Daura joined the Allied Peoples Movement.

Inuwa, a veteran Katsina politician and former SSG, was the first of the two to announce his resignation from the opposition ADC.

He served as Commissioner for Education between 2003 and 2006 before becoming SSG during the administration of the late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua. He later returned as SSG under former Governor Aminu Bello Masari, serving from 2015 to 2022.

In 2022, Inuwa resigned as SSG to contest the APC governorship primary, where he lost to the present Governor, Mallam Dikko Umar Radda. Radda secured 506 votes against Inuwa’s 442 during the primary election.

Following the primary, Inuwa, the then-aggrieved aspirant, left the APC for the Peoples Democratic Party in October 2022, alongside his supporters, after disagreements over the handling of his political camp within the party.

He subsequently emerged as a major PDP figure in Katsina and served as Director-General of the Atiku Abubakar presidential campaign organisation in the state during the 2023 general elections.

By 2025, Inuwa had become one of the prominent figures in the opposition realignment around the ADC in Katsina, where he built a political structure around his supporters.

He returned to the governorship contest in 2026 on the ADC platform but later rejected the outcome of the party’s governorship primary that produced Senator Ahmad Babba Kaita as its candidate.

Inuwa maintained his opposition to the process until Sunday, August 9, 2026, when he formally resigned from the ADC and announced his return to his former party, the APC.

Addressing supporters in Katsina, Inuwa said the decision was taken in the interest of advancing their political aspirations and protecting the interests of his supporters.

His defection, accompanied by thousands of supporters, has sparked reactions across the state, with political stakeholders describing it as a potential boost to the APC ahead of the 2027 general elections.

Lawal Daura, another prominent ADC governorship aspirant, also resigned from the party on Sunday and announced his move to the APM in Daura Local Government Area of the state.

The former DSS Director-General had contested the ADC’s 2026 Katsina governorship ticket but lost to Senator Ahmad Babba Kaita.

Following the primary, Daura became one of the prominent figures challenging the outcome of the party’s candidate-selection process amid the internal crisis that rocked the ADC in the state.

He reportedly insisted that the party should adopt a transparent and democratic process in selecting its governorship candidate.

His resignation on Sunday ended weeks of uncertainty over his political future.

Sources within the party hierarchy told reporters in Katsina that Lawal Daura is expected to emerge as the running mate to Oluseyi Abiodun Makinde, reportedly the APM’s presidential candidate.

Speaking during an event in Katsina, Daura said his silence during the ADC crisis was deliberate and part of his preparation for what he described as a better political option.

He urged his supporters to remain patient, saying they should expect more developments from their new political platform.

“As I always say, I have ventured into politics because of my people, the Nigerians. I am in politics because I want Nigeria to be back on its feet and, by God’s grace, we will attain victory with the support of the Katsina people and the whole of Nigeria,” he said.

Political analysts in Katsina believe Inuwa’s return to the APC, particularly with a sizeable number of his supporters, could strengthen the ruling party’s political machinery ahead of the 2027 elections.

Daura’s move to the APM, however, is expected to present a different political challenge, as the party has a relatively limited structure and presence in Katsina State compared with the ruling APC, PDP and other major political platforms. (PUNCH)

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