The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kebbi State received a significant boost on Tuesday, the 2nd of December, 2025, as more than 1,500 members of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, from the Zuru Emirate have defected to the ruling party.
The defectors were formally welcomed in Birnin Kebbi by the State APC Chairman, Alhaji Abubakar Kana-Zuru. He attributed the large-scale move to the perceived success and high performance of the state government.
Kana-Zuru emphasized that infrastructural development, specifically the construction of the Koko–Dabai–Zuru road and other projects across the state, heavily “influenced the decision of many supporters”. The Chairman assured the new members that they would be fully integrated and “treated equally within the party.”
The decision to switch parties was underscored by several prominent defectors.
Alhaji Lawali Riba, a former PDP House of Assembly candidate, explained that the defection was motivated by recent positive developments in the state, including the successful and coordinated rescue of abducted students from Government Girls’ Comprehensive Secondary School, Maga.
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Another new APC member, Arzika Riba, acknowledged the government’s efforts but called for better efficiency from appointed officials, criticising some aides for what he described as “slow performance,” and urging them to “improve their roles.”
The weakening of the opposition’s grassroots presence was highlighted by two female defectors from Danko-Wasagu Local Government Area, Binta Bena and Hajiya Maryam, who stated that the opposition “PDP had lost ground in the area.”