Zamfara Gov weighs defection to APC as PDP crisis deepens

Zamfara State Governor, Dauda Lawal, is reportedly considering defecting from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) amid the ongoing leadership crisis rocking the opposition party.

 

Political sources said leaders of the APC in Abuja have been wooing the governor to join the ruling party, allegedly offering him an automatic governorship ticket for the 2027 election as part of the deal.

 

According to the speculation, the arrangement may also allow the governor to control about 40 per cent of elective and political appointments in the state, while APC stakeholders would take the remaining 60 per cent.

 

It was further gathered that Lawal has consulted PDP stakeholders in Zamfara over the possibility of leaving the party following the prolonged national leadership crisis within the PDP.

 

Sources indicated that the governor could formally announce his defection after the forthcoming Eid-el-Kabir celebration.

 

A source within the APC, who spoke on condition of anonymity, claimed that the governor had already accepted the offer to join the ruling party.

 

“Governor Lawal has accepted the offer to leave the PDP and join our party, the APC,” the source said.

 

“Although most of us are not celebrating this defection because we will lose a lot of positions, there is nothing we can do about it, as it was planned at the top.”

 

The source added that the APC remains confident of reclaiming the state regardless of the governor’s decision.

 

“I am quite sure that our party will reclaim Zamfara State in 2027 with or without Governor Lawal. As such, there is nothing to celebrate because of his defection,” the source added.

 

However, Governor Lawal has maintained that his political future will depend on the outcome of the ongoing court battle over the PDP’s leadership crisis.

 

Speaking during a meeting with party stakeholders at the Government House in Gusau, the governor said the Appeal Court judgment on the legality of the party’s leadership would determine his next move.

 

The PDP is currently battling a legal dispute over the November 2025 national convention held in Ibadan, Oyo State, which produced Tanimu Turaki (SAN) as national chairman.

 

The convention was backed by PDP governors but opposed by the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, and his allies.

 

A High Court sitting in Ibadan had earlier declared the convention illegal, prompting the party to challenge the decision at the Court of Appeal.

 

Reacting to the speculation, the Zamfara PDP spokesperson, Alhaji Haliru Andi, insisted that the governor would remain in the party if the internal crisis is resolved.

 

“As long as the PDP remains the legitimate political party in Nigeria, Governor Lawal will remain in the party,” Andi said.

 

“We are only waiting for the Appeal Court’s verdict, which will determine the legality or otherwise of Turaki’s leadership and the Ibadan convention.”

 

He added that PDP stakeholders in Zamfara are not in support of joining another political party unless the crisis within the PDP persists.