Shehu Sani, the former Kaduna senator, has rejoined the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
Sani was among the defectors announced on Saturday by Uba Sani, governor of Kaduna, at a rally which took place in Murtala Muhammed Square, Kaduna.
Among the defectors are Suleiman Hunkuyi, the governorship candidate of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) in 2023; Muktar Ramalan Yero, a former Kaduna governor; and Sani Shaaban, a former member of the house of representatives.
Others are Danjuma Tela Laah, Abubakar Mustapha, Jafaru Kurmin Kogi, Donatus Mathew, Amos Gwamna Magaji, Henry Marah Zachariah, Samuel Kozah Kambai, Emmanuel Kantiok, Sule Buba, Yakubu Umar Barde, Mato Dogara, Micheal Auta, Joseph Almajiri Ciroma, Idris Zangon Aya, Muhammad Mahmud Aliyu, Usman Baba and Seth Bakut.
The defectors were leaders in NNPP and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
In a statement, the Kaduna governor said the defectors decided to join the ruling APC because of his administration’s “inclusive and people-centred policies and programmes”.
He said the new APC members are committed to mobilising more people for the party.
“In my remarks, I thanked the decampees, party stakeholders as well as citizens who turned out in their thousands for the Stakeholders Meeting and grand rally,” the statement reads.
“I assured the decampees of our support to ensure their smooth integration into our dear party.
“While expressing our gratitude to our party faithfuls for their steadfastness and loyalty, I urged them to remain committed to the ideals of our party. Let us work together to build a better future for our people and state.”
In October 2018, Shehu Sani, who previously represented Kaduna central, resigned his APC membership following the controversies which trailed the party’s primaries for the 2019 elections.
The APC national working committee (NWC) had cleared Sani as the only candidate for the senatorial seat to enable him secure re-election into the upper chamber.
However, Nasir el-Rufai, former governor of Kaduna, kicked against it due to the feud between him and the former senator.
The primary election for the 2019 APC Kaduna central senatorial ticket was later won by the current Kaduna governor, who was then an ally of el-Rufai.
The former senator decamped to the PDP and secured the party’s senatorial ticket but lost the 2019 election to the Kaduna governor.
In 2023, Uba Sani became governor on the platform of the APC with support from el-Rufai.
However, the relationship between Uba Sani and el-Rufai would later turn sour.
