KANO – The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kano State has been hit by a major defection as its State Welfare Secretary, Bashir Maisango, officially resigned his position to join the opposition African Democratic Congress (ADC).
The resignation, which caught the state leadership off guard on Friday, marks another high-profile exit from the ruling party’s North-West stronghold. Maisango’s departure follows a similar wave of mass resignations in neighboring Jigawa State, where loyalists of former Governor Badaru Abubakar recently dumped the APC, citing institutional “injustice.”
The “David Mark Effect”
Despite the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) recent move to de-list the ADC’s national leadership, Maisango’s defection signals that the Senator David Mark-led NWC is still a powerful magnet for disgruntled APC stalwarts.
Insiders say Maisango’s decision is a protest against the “lawlessness and intimidation” he claims has taken over the ruling party’s internal affairs. “I am moving to a platform where the rule of law is respected and where the vision for 2027 is clear,” a source close to the former Welfare Secretary quoted him as saying.
A Blow to Ganduje’s Backyard
The loss of a Welfare Secretary—the man tasked with managing the “stomach infrastructure” and internal harmony of the party—is a personal blow to APC National Chairman Abdullahi Ganduje in his home state. It comes at a time when the ADC has vowed to ignore INEC’s “non-mandatory” monitoring stance and proceed with its ward-to-national congresses starting April 9, 2026.
The Northern Rebellion Grows
From Governor Bala Mohammed’s “Gestapo” allegations in Bauchi to the mass exits in Jigawa and now Kano, the APC’s grip on the North is facing a serious “ground-level” rebellion. While the ruling party spends ₦11 billion on conventions and President Tinubu makes “ten-minute” airport stops in Jos, the opposition is quietly mopping up the very foot soldiers who delivered the 2023 victory.
For the Kano APC, Maisango’s exit isn’t just a vacancy—it’s a warning. As the Action Peoples Party (APP) also circles as a “Plan B” for the opposition, the “Elephant” in the room is getting harder to ignore.
