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The former Governor of Kano State, Ibrahim Shekarau, has defected from the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and is expected to rejoin the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
Mr Shekarau announced his defection from the PDP on Sunday at his Mundubawa Avenue Residence in Kano, decorated with APC posters, following days of consultations, including with his Shura committee (supporters), who approved his defection to the APC.
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Mr Shekarau, who served two consecutive terms as Kano governor between 2003 and 2011, rejoined the APC days after the APC national chairman, Nentawe Yilwatda, invited him to the ruling party alongside another PDP chieftain, Bello Hayatu.
In 2003, Mr Shekarau made history as the first challenger in Kano State to unseat an incumbent, defeating Governor Rabiu Kwankwaso. Following this landmark victory, Mr Shekarau was reelected in 2007 and thus served two consecutive terms in office.
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However, his attempt to install a successor, Salihu Takai, narrowly failed in 2011. Consequently, he handed over power to the PDP’s opposition candidate—the same Mr Kwankwaso whom he had defeated eight years prior.
Shekarau’s defection trend
Mr Shekarau’s defection trend is often driven by power struggles within Kano’s politics, particularly his long-standing rivalry with Mr Kwankwaso.
Mr Shekarau was a founding member of the defunct All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP), under which he served as governor.
In 2014, Mr Shekarau defected to the PDP after his former party, the ANPP, merged with others to form the APC. A direct conflict of interest prompted the move: his arch-rival, then-sitting Governor Kwankwaso, had also joined the APC.
Feeling that the party’s structure in Kano was being handed over to Mr Kwankwaso, Mr Shekarau sought refuge in the PDP.
Following the PDP’s defeat in the 2015 general elections, Mr Shekarau remained with the party for several years before rejoining the APC in September 2018.
In a dramatic turn of events, Mr Kwankwaso concurrently defected from the APC back to the PDP.
History soon repeated itself. Mr Shekarau felt the PDP’s national leadership was favouring Mr Kwankwaso’s “Kwankwasiyya” movement in Kano. To avoid being sidelined, Mr Shekarau returned to the APC and subsequently won the Kano Central senatorial seat in 2019.
APC to NNPP
Leading up to the 2023 elections, internal friction intensified between Mr Shekarau and then-Governor Abdullahi Ganduje. As leader of the “G-7” faction within the APC, Mr Shekarau felt marginalised by Mr Ganduje’s absolute control over the party at the grassroots.
Consequently, he defected to the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), which Mr Kwankwaso then led.
For a brief period, he buried the hatchet with his long-term rival, Mr Kwankwaso, joined forces against Mr Ganduje, seeking a platform that would guarantee his followers tickets for the upcoming elections.
NNPP back to the PDP
Mr Shekarau’s tenure in the NNPP lasted only three months. He returned to the PDP in August 2022, alleging that Mr Kwankwaso and the NNPP leadership had failed to honour an agreement to integrate his supporters into the party’s list of candidates for the 2023 elections.
After moving his entire political machinery to the PDP to back Atiku Abubakar’s 2023 presidential bid, Mr Shekarau has made another dramatic pivot.
In a fresh twist, he is returning to the APC to bolster President Bola Tinubu’s 2027 re-election campaign—throwing his support behind the very man who was Atiku’s main rival in the previous election.
Although Mr Shekarau supported Atiku’s 2023 presidential bid, his supporters largely broke ranks to back the APC’s Muslim-Muslim ticket of President Tinubu and Kashim Shettima, which resulted in an abysmal performance for Atiku in Kano State, despite Mr Shekarau’s formal alignment with the PDP.
