2027: APC claims major opposition influx in Bauchi as 157,000 members join party

By Musa Baba Adamu with agency report

The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Bauchi State has received what party leaders described as a major boost ahead of the 2027 general elections, with 157,000 members of opposition parties reportedly joining its ranks.

The defectors, said to be drawn from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), People’s Redemption Party (PRP), Allied Peoples Movement (APM) and other political platforms, were formally received into the APC at a large gathering in Azare.

The development signals an intensification of the political realignment already unfolding ahead of the 2027 elections, particularly as parties seek to expand their grassroots structures and consolidate support across Bauchi State.

Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Muhammad Ali Pate, who addressed the gathering, said the new entrants had been formally admitted into the APC and their details documented as registered party members.

Pate interpreted the influx as evidence of growing confidence in the APC and its leadership in the state, while calling on existing members to accommodate the newcomers and avoid divisions that could undermine the party’s electoral prospects.

He also used the occasion to canvass support for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s re-election bid, urging APC members across Bauchi to mobilize voters behind the president ahead of 2027.

According to the minister, projects and programmes implemented by the Tinubu administration had benefited the state and provided sufficient grounds for APC members to campaign for a second presidential term.

The APC’s 2027 governorship candidate in Bauchi and former governor, Muhammad Abdullahi Abubakar, SAN, similarly urged party members to put aside their differences and concentrate on strengthening the party ahead of the elections.

Abubakar said the influx of new members represented both an opportunity and a responsibility, insisting that the defectors should be treated as full members of the APC rather than outsiders.

He called on long-standing members to work closely with the new entrants, arguing that cooperation between both groups would be essential to building an effective grassroots political machinery across the state.

The scale of the claimed defection was disclosed by Hon. Farouq Mustapha, who spoke on behalf of the new members.

Mustapha described his return to the APC as a “homecoming”, saying he considered himself a member of the party who had returned to his political home.

He said the group had quietly engaged members of several political parties before persuading them to join the APC.

“Across the parties I listed, from the APM to the NDC we have a total of 157,000 people on our records,” Mustapha said, adding that the group had not merely made public declarations but had undertaken outreach to prospective defectors.

He assured the APC leadership that the new members were ready to contribute to the party’s growth and electoral campaign.

The emphasis by virtually all the speakers on unity, discipline and integration reflects a key challenge that often accompanies large-scale defections: converting numerical gains into a cohesive political structure.