Bashir Saidu pledges 11 Zazzau LGAs to APC in 2027

Former Kaduna State official Bashir Saidu says he has defected from the African Democratic Congress to the All Progressives Congress with about 10,000 supporters and has pledged to mobilize votes for the APC in all 11 local government areas of Zazzau Emirate in the 2027 elections. The claimed supporter total and promised electoral outcome have not been independently verified. Saidu made the pledge during a visit to his residence by Isa Lawal, a special adviser on domestic affairs. He said his move was intended to show that he had not joined the APC alone, and predicted that the party would receive more votes in Zaria than former President Muhammadu Buhari received there in previous elections. Saidu also said about 3,091 ADC members in Lere were preparing to join the APC, while groups of roughly 4,000 supporters were present in some other local government areas. Those figures, like his estimate of 10,000 people who joined him, were presented as his claims. The accounts of his remarks do not establish how many people have completed a change in party membership. The 11 local government areas named in his pledge make up Zazzau Emirate.