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Campaign Analysis

The big tent: how a wave of governors crossed over to the APC

From Bayelsa to Kano, five governors have joined the ruling party since mid-2025. The party says it now controls 31 states.

Tinubu 2027 Newsroom 2 min read

The green-white-green Nigerian flag flying at the Abuja City Gate
File photo, 2026. The Nigerian flag at the Abuja City Gate. Photo: Jummy001 / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

The All Progressives Congress enters the 2027 campaign with an expanded coalition of governors, after a run of defections between mid-2025 and early 2026.

According to a March 2026 report by Pulse, the party claims control of 31 states.

Who crossed over

Akwa Ibom State Governor Umo Eno joined the APC in June 2025. Bayelsa State Governor Douye Diri followed in November 2025, defecting alongside the Speaker of the state House of Assembly and lawmakers.

Taraba State Governor Agbu Kefas was received into the party in February 2026, and Zamfara State Governor Dauda Lawal formally defected in March 2026. Kano State Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf also moved to the APC in 2026, from the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP).

The defections reach across regions: Akwa Ibom and Bayelsa in the South-South, Taraba in the North-East, and Zamfara and Kano in the North-West.

Leaders in their states

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has said all governors remain the leaders of the APC in their respective states, a position that places the new arrivals at the head of party structures going into the campaign.

The coalition stretches beyond the party’s own governors. At the inauguration of the APC Presidential Campaign Council on 14 October, Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke and Anambra State Governor Charles Soludo pledged support for the President’s re-election, and the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike of the PDP, was named campaign coordinator for Rivers State and the FCT.

The APC National Chairman, Professor Nentawe Yilwatda, said the council would canvass for votes ward by ward, local government by local government and state by state.

The party’s rally timetable takes the campaign to every state capital, including Uyo on 18 November, Kano on 17 December, Gusau on 14 December, Yenagoa on 15 December and Jalingo on 19 December.

The presidential election holds on Saturday 16 January 2027, with governorship elections on 6 February 2027.

Sources

  1. Pulse — Governors who defected to APC recently
  2. Nigerian Observer — Gov Lawal of Zamfara formally defects to APC
  3. allAfrica — Taraba governor received into APC
  4. Daily Trust — 2027: Wike, Adeleke, Soludo make revised APC Presidential Campaign Council

This report is compiled from the public news reports and official statements listed above. Quotes and figures are attributed to those who made them.