2027: Kano Lawmaker Dumps APC For NDC After Losing Return Ticket

A member of the Kano State House of Assembly, Abdulmajid Mai Rigar Fata, has defected from the All Progressives Congress (APC) to the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) after failing to secure the ruling party’s ticket for re-election.

Mai Rigar Fata, who represents Gwale Local Government Area, the home base of Kano State governor, Abba Yusuf, was formally received into NDC on Thursday by former Kano State governor and NDC leader, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, at his Maitama residence in Abuja.

The development was disclosed by Kwankwaso’s media aide, Saifullahi Hassan, in a Facebook post on Thursday.

According to Hassan, “Today, (Thursday, 21st May 2026), His Excellency, Sen. Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, welcomed Hon. Abdulmajid Isa Umar Mai Rigar Fata, member representing Gwale Constituency in the Kano State House of Assembly, following his defection from the APC to the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), at his residence in Maitama, Abuja.”

He added that the lawmaker was accompanied by former Vice Chairman of Gwale Local Government, Hon. Kabiru Sani Auwal Obi, and Malam Mahadi Isa Umar, who also joined the new party.

LEADERSHIP reports that Mai Rigar Fata was first elected into the State Assembly in 2023 on the platform of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) before later aligning with the APC alongside Governor Yusuf.

However, reports indicated that his latest defection was triggered by his inability to secure the APC ticket to return to the Assembly in the next election cycle.

The move came barely hours after a Federal High Court ruling on Thursday cleared the path for politicians seeking to defect to alternative political platforms ahead of the forthcoming elections.

Reacting to the judgement, the spokesman of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Bolaji Abdullahi, described the ruling as a major boost for politicians considering leaving the APC.

“The decision of the court on these issues, including those that directly contradict the Constitution, is therefore a welcome vindication of our position,” the party said in a statement.

The ADC further stated that the judgment, which it said removed restrictions affecting politicians seeking alternative platforms to contest elections, would strengthen freedom of association and encourage more defections from the ruling party.

“We believed at the time that that particular restriction was designed to prevent people from leaving the ruling party, APC. Now that the court has ruled against it, we are sure that, in the coming days, we will witness a mass exodus from the ruling party,” the statement added.