With the 2027 general elections on the horizon, cracks are widening within the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, as some of its foundation members mount a strong push back against high-profile defectors being courted into the party. The resistance, which has spread across states like Kano, Plateau, Delta, Enugu and Osun, is fueled by fears of displacement, with long-serving APC loyalists warning that newcomers may hijack party structures if allowed entry without clear power-sharing arrangements.

In Delta, loyalists of former Deputy Senate President, Ovie Omo-Agege, often cite their own experience as a cautionary tale. They insist that since Governor Sheriff Oborevwori defected from the Peoples Democratic Party PDP to the APC, Omo-Agege’s camp has been relegated in the scheme of things.

Kano: Kwankwaso’s shadow, Ganduje’s counter moves

The situation is even more volatile in Kano, where moves to woo former Governor Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso have unsettled party heavyweights. Kwankwaso, who now leads the New Nigeria Peoples Party NNPP, has given one condition for his return: his powerful Kwankwasiyya movement must be fully accommodated within the APC.

“Truth is that he doesn’t want to repeat the mistake of the past where he moved back to the Peoples Democratic Party PDP and even the position of vice chairman was not conceded to his group,” said an official of the NNPP in Kano who requested anonymity. But this condition has put Kwankwaso on a collision course with loyalists of Dr Abdullahi Ganduje, immediate-past APC National Chairman, who are unwilling to surrender the party structure. Ganduje’s loyalists fear that if Kwankwaso returns, Governor Abba Yusuf – his protégé – will automatically become the leader of the APC in Kano.

On September 25, Ganduje convened a strategy meeting in Abuja with Deputy Senate President, Senator Barau Jibrin; former Governor Kabiru Gaya; Senator Abdulrahman Kawu Ismaila (who himself had recently ditched the NNPP for the APC; Senator Basheer Lado; Kano APC Chairman, Abdullahi Abbas; and other influential leaders.

Speaking after the meeting, Ganduje said: “Critical APC stakeholders from Kano State decided to meet and examine the state of the party and to assure the President that we in APC in Kano are solidly behind him. Our party has remained intact and because of the policies of the President, we have been able to attract high-profile figures from other parties. We have resolved to continue to work very hard to ensure that we succeed in the next gubernatorial election in Kano State.”

Senator Jibrin reinforced the point, saying; “The president, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, has done well. We took note of the various appointments that the president has given to us. We are solidly behind him because we have never asked him for anything that he didn’t do for us. We have resolved as stakeholders to go back home to rally our people to continue to support Mr President.”

Still, party insiders say Ganduje’s camp is deeply worried: “If the Kwankwasiyya movement joins the APC, only the Deputy Senate President, Jibrin Barau, might retain his Senate ticket. Others in the Ganduje camp might lose out. This is the permutation and that is why there are a lot of push backs,” said an APC source.

Enugu: Mbah’s courtship and a minister’s fall

In Enugu, overtures from national APC leaders to Governor Peter Mbah had rattled the camp of Geoffrey Nnaji, until recently President Tinubu’s Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation.

Sources say fears of displacement triggered the internal tussle that eventually led to the controversy around Nnaji’s academic records and his resignation on October 7. The governor had since made his way into the APC, following the resignation of Nnaji from the president’s cabinet.

Osun

In Osun, expectations that Governor Ademola Adeleke might defect to the APC after meeting with President Tinubu sparked sharp resistance from the camp of his predecessor, Adegboyega Oyetola, now Minister of Marine and Blue Economy. Oyetola’s loyalists, who hold the APC structure in Osun, remain opposed to Adeleke’s possible entry, warning that it would tilt control away from them.

Plateau

In Plateau state, home of the APC national chairman, Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda, a fresh storm is brewing within the State chapter of the party. This is because some “traditional” members of the party are reportedly mobilizing to resist the alleged move by Governor Caleb Mutfwang of the Peoples Democratic Party PDP to defect to the ruling party ahead of the 2027 elections. The push back, led by influential grassroots figures and some considered as loyalists of Prof. Yilwatda, is already widening cracks in the party, with concerns that the internal wrangling could undermine President Tinubu’s 2027 re-election strategy in the North Central region.

While President Tinubu and the APC national leadership have been quietly pursuing a broad-based rapprochement with opposition governors nationwide — a key element of the President’s “Renewed Hope” political outreach — the Plateau faction appears to be taking a different route, insisting that the APC must not “reward those who fought against it” in the last election.

At the centre of the controversy is Governor Mutfwang, who, despite his current legal tussles and strained relations with some PDP heavyweights, has reportedly been courted by some Abuja-based APC strategists to cross over to the ruling party. His defection, according to insiders, would be a major boost for Tinubu’s political base in the North Central, especially after the APC lost the state in 2023.

However, opposition within the Plateau APC has been fierce. Sources close to the state leadership confirmed that at a stakeholders’ meeting held in Jos last Friday — chaired by Prof. Nentawe himself — a motion was allegedly moved and adopted to bar the governor from joining the APC. The resolution, seen by some as a direct affront to Tinubu’s inclusive national strategy, has since drawn sharp condemnation from pro-presidency elements.

In a strongly-worded statement, the Renewed Hope Advocates of Nigeria (RHAN) — a pro-Tinubu political support group — accused Prof. Nentawe of allowing personal grievances from his 2023 electoral defeat to dictate the party’s direction. Comrade Prince Miaphen, the group’s National Coordinator, said the decision to block Mutfwang was “reckless, self-serving and politically suicidal,” warning that Plateau’s political disunity could once again cost the APC valuable votes in 2027. “At a time when the President is building bridges across party lines, how can Plateau APC be the one closing doors? Blocking a sitting governor with over two million registered voters from joining the APC shows a dangerous disconnect from national reality”, he said.

Miaphen suggested that Yilwatda’s posture might be motivated by his own governorship ambitions, claiming that the party chairman “still nurses bitterness from his 2023 loss” and is “jealously guarding the 2027 ticket.” Beyond personal politics, however, the crisis highlights a deeper ideological rift within the Plateau APC – between the “traditional” members who built the party from the grassroots and a new, Abuja-aligned bloc that favours a more inclusive and pragmatic approach.

Old guard

While the old guard argues that accepting Mutfwang would “betray those who suffered for the party,” the pro-Tinubu camp believes that politics is about numbers and timing. “Tinubu’s victory in 2027 cannot rely on sentiment or revenge politics,” one party chieftain said. “It will require expansion, even if it means embracing former rivals.” Observers say the Plateau saga mirrors a recurring challenge within the APC: balancing loyalty to the party’s founding structures with the President’s broader national coalition strategy.

Similar tensions reportedly exist in other states where opposition leaders are being courted ahead of 2027. As the controversy deepens, pressure is mounting on the APC national secretariat to intervene. RHAN has already called on President Tinubu to personally wade into the matter and caution Yilwatda’s camp against “playing local politics with national stakes.” “The Plateau situation is too sensitive to be left to ego and bitterness. The President’s re-election map depends on inclusion, not exclusion”, said Miaphen.

For now, Governor Mutfwang has not publicly confirmed any defection plans, but political watchers in Jos say the rumour itself has exposed the fault lines within the Plateau APC — a party still struggling to find unity after its 2023 setback. As of the time of filing this report, Prof. Yilwatda was yet to respond to media inquiries.

Party insiders acknowledge that “power sharing is at the core of the crisis in states where foundation members are pushing back at defectors.” From Delta to Kano, Enugu to Osun, the common denominator is the fear of being politically displaced by new entrants who arrive with incumbency advantages. As one APC source put it: “It is not just in Kano but even in some other states.

The situation is also not just in APC but also in the opposition African Democratic Congress ADC, where their own foundation members are pushing back right from the national to the ward levels.”

With barely two years until the next general election, the APC’s challenge may not be in defeating the opposition but in managing its own internal battles that could determine who truly controls the party’s structures before 2027. (VANGUARD)