From Idris Khalid, Bauchi
No fewer than 157,000 members of various political parties, including the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), People’s Redemption Party (PRP), Allied Peoples Movement (APM) and others, have defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Bauchi State.
The defectors were formally received into the APC during a major party gathering held yesterday in Azare, where party leaders, stakeholders and supporters gathered to welcome the new members.
Speaking, Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Muhammad Ali Pate, said the new members had been formally admitted into the APC, with their details documented as registered members of the party.
Pate described the mass defection as a demonstration of growing confidence in the APC and its leadership in Bauchi State.
He called on old and new members of the party to work together as one family, stressing that unity, mutual respect and commitment would be crucial to the party’s success in future elections.
The minister also urged the people of Bauchi State to support President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s bid for a second term in 2027, saying the president’s administration had implemented several projects and programmes beneficial to the state.
He maintained that Tinubu’s achievements across various sectors justified his re-election, urging APC members to mobilise support for the president ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Also speaking, the 2027 APC governorship candidate in Bauchi State and former governor, Muhammad Abdullahi Abubakar SAN, urged members to set aside their differences and strengthen unity within the party.
Abubakar said the growing number of new members joining the APC presented both an opportunity and a responsibility for the party, urging the defectors to regard themselves as full members of the APC family.
He also appealed to long-standing members to welcome the new entrants and work with them towards building a stronger political structure across the state.
According to him, unity would be critical to effective grassroots mobilisation and ensuring that the APC remains competitive in all parts of Bauchi State.
Speaking on behalf of the new members, Hon. Farouq Mustapha expressed appreciation for the reception accorded the defectors, describing his return to the APC as a homecoming.
“I am a son of the house, APC is my home and I have returned home,” Mustapha said.
He assured the party leadership that the new members were prepared to contribute to the growth and success of the APC, while calling for cooperation between old and new members.
Mustapha, who announced the number of defectors, said the group had recorded 157,000 new members across the political platforms it had reached out to.
“Across the parties I listed, from the APM to the NDC we have a total of 157,000 people on our records. We did not simply make noise; we quietly reached out and appealed to them, and those who deemed us worthy agreed to join us and align with the APC,” he said.
He urged APC members to embrace one another and shun divisions, stressing that the party’s success would depend on unity, discipline and effective coordination.
The Azare gathering attracted APC leaders, stakeholders, supporters and the newly defected members, who pledged their commitment to the party and its programmes in Bauchi state.
