Former Kano State Governor Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso will defect to the African Democratic Congress (ADC) on Monday, March 30, according to a statement from his Kwankwasiyya Movement. The official ceremony is scheduled for 12 p.m. at Gidan Kwakwasiyya on Miller Road, Bompai, Kano.
This move represents a significant realignment for the prominent northern politician ahead of Nigeria’s 2027 general elections. Kwankwaso, a former presidential candidate, is leaving the New Nigerian Peoples Party (NNPP), under which banner he contested the 2023 election.
In that presidential race, Kwankwaso finished fourth, securing 1,496,687 votes. He trailed behind the declared winner, President Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and Peter Obi of the Labour Party (LP).
The planned switch follows a meeting on Saturday between Kwankwaso and former Vice President Atiku Abubakar in Abuja. This meeting has fueled speculation about potential coalition-building among opposition figures for the next electoral cycle.
Kwankwaso, a former two-term governor of Kano, has a long history of political movement. He was a key figure in the PDP before his 2022 defection to help form the NNPP. His switch to the ADC, a smaller party, underscores the fluidity of Nigeria’s pre-election political dynamics. The ADC now becomes the platform for a veteran politician with a significant northern political structure and a national following from his 2023 campaign.
The defection is poised to reshape opposition calculations. It consolidates Kwankwaso’s separate political identity from the NNPP and positions him within a new party structure. Political analysts view this as an early and bold maneuver in the chess game for 2027, potentially testing the strength of emerging opposition alliances. The ceremony in Kano will formally launch his ADC membership, setting the stage for his next political move.
