2027: APC Suffers Fresh Blow as Over 700 Members Join ADC in Sokoto

By Nafiu Muhammad Lema

More than 700 members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Goronyo Local Government Area of Sokoto State have defected to the African Democratic Congress (ADC), further intensifying political activities ahead of the 2027 general elections.

The defectors, drawn from Goronyo and Shinaka wards, joined the ADC on Monday in what was described as the largest single defection from the APC in the local government in recent times.

The group was led by Alhaji Aliyu Tunau Shinaka, a former APC Secretary in Goronyo and two-time Special Adviser to Sokoto State governors.

Other prominent members who joined the ADC included the APC Youth Leader in Goronyo, Alhaji Ibrahim Ado Taloka; Alhaji Kabiru Malam Isah Mai’alewa; and a prominent women leader and youth mobiliser, Hajiya Shafa’atu S/Pawa Goronyo.

Speaking during the defection ceremony, Shinaka said the decision to leave the APC was driven by what the defectors described as poor leadership, neglect of party members and inadequate attention to the challenges facing residents of Goronyo.

He accused the Minister of State for Works, Muhammad Bello Goronyo, whom they identified as the APC leader in the area, of failing to adequately address the concerns of party members and residents.

“We have remained committed members of the APC, but we can no longer continue to support a leadership that has abandoned its own people,” Shinaka said.

He said the defectors believed the ADC could provide a platform for achieving better leadership, improving the welfare of the people and bringing meaningful development to the area.

Taloka also criticised the minister’s leadership of the APC in Goronyo, alleging that residents and party members had not received the support they expected.

He said the decision to join the ADC was based on the belief that the party had the potential to form governments at the federal and state levels and address challenges relating to security, peace and development.

The defectors also raised concerns over the deteriorating security situation in Goronyo and neighbouring local government areas.

They alleged that the minister had failed to sufficiently identify with communities affected by banditry and terrorism, including families who lost loved ones or had relatives abducted.

According to the defectors, more than 100 residents are currently being held by bandits in different camps across the area, although the claim was not independently verified.

They further faulted the minister over what they described as inadequate attention to federal roads in Sokoto East since his appointment to the Ministry of Works.

The latest movement follows the reported defection of 154 men, women and youths from Ƙirare village in Goronyo LGA to the ADC barely a week earlier.

The Ƙirare defectors also cited alleged poor leadership and insufficient concern for the welfare of APC members as reasons for leaving the ruling party.

The successive defections have added to the growing political realignment in Goronyo as political parties and groups position themselves ahead of the 2027 general elections.