Senator Kabiru Ibrahim Gaya, former governor of Kano State, has explained his defection from the All Progressives Congress (APC) to the Advanced Peoples Democratic Alliance (ADP), not ADC as reported in error. He cited growing dissatisfaction with the direction of the country over the past three years as a key reason for the move. Gaya, who served in the Senate for eight years, was part of the team that formed the APC in 2013. He recalled working alongside Bola Tinubu on the party's logo and structure. He stated that while the APC performed well in its first eight years under President Muhammadu Buhari, recent governance failures prompted him and others to seek alternative platforms. He emphasized that the decision was collective, involving several former APC members seeking to strengthen opposition politics.
Gaya pointed to economic hardship, particularly the impact of government import policies on local farmers, as a major concern. He argued that subsidised imports have driven down local crop prices, making it impossible for farmers to recoup production costs. He acknowledged joining the ADP after its recent convention, having formally resigned from the APC. While aware of internal challenges within the ADP, he expressed confidence that party leaders and lawyers would resolve them. He also criticised the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), recalling his time as chairman of the INEC oversight committee in the Senate, when he pushed for a reduction from 91 registered parties. He said INEC should have engaged emerging parties like ADP earlier rather than rejecting leadership structures after public interest surged.
Kabiru Gaya's move to the ADP is less about party loyalty and more about political recalibration by a veteran who helped build the APC from scratch. His detailed account of co-designing the party's logo with Tinubu underscores his insider status, making his exit a symbolic rupture rather than a mere defection. That he waited until after the ADP's convention to join suggests he was assessing momentum, not leading a charge.
The economic grievances Gaya raises are not new, but his framing links elite political shifts to rural distress in a way few lawmakers do. By highlighting how maize imports undercut local farmers—forcing them to trade three bags of corn for one bag of fertiliser—he grounds his political shift in tangible hardship. This is not just opposition for power's sake; it reflects a growing disconnect between ruling party policies and their real-world impact on agrarian communities.
For ordinary Nigerians, especially smallholder farmers, Gaya's pivot signals that even former pillars of the ruling party see current economic management as unsustainable. If more establishment figures begin aligning with opposition platforms over economic grounds, it could reshape voter calculations in 2027.
This fits a broader pattern: disillusioned APC founders seeking new vehicles after losing faith in the party's direction. From Oshiomhole to Saraki to Gaya, the narrative is consistent—internal democracy eroded, economic policies misfired, and space for dissent within the APC narrowed.
