KANO APC: THE OLD GUARD FEELS LEFT BEHIND AS 2027 LOOMS
By Bala Salihu Dawakin Kudu
Northern Bureau Chief / Political Analyst
September 2, 2026
In Nigerian politics, particularly in Kano where grassroots mobilisation can determine the fate of political parties, there is an old lesson that political leaders ignore at their peril: a political party is not built by its leaders alone; it is built by the loyalty, sacrifice and commitment of its members. That lesson is once again confronting the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kano as the party prepares for the 2027 general elections.
Across the state, concerns are being expressed by some old members, grassroots activists and party loyalists who believe that those who stood with the APC during its difficult years deserve greater recognition, consultation and inclusion in the party’s emerging political structure.
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The issue is not simply about appointments, contracts or political positions. At its heart is a more fundamental question:
What happens to the ordinary party member after the election — and what happens when yesterday’s loyalist begins to feel that his or her contribution no longer matters?
That question deserves serious attention as Kano’s political landscape undergoes one of its most significant transformations in recent years.
The political equation in Kano changed dramatically in January 2026 when Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf left the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) and joined the APC, alongside 22 members of the Kano State House of Assembly and nine members of the House of Representatives.
The development fundamentally altered the balance of political forces in the state.
For the APC, the governor’s arrival represented a major expansion of the party’s political tent. But it also created a delicate internal challenge: how does a party integrate powerful new entrants without alienating the old members who built and defended the party when it was in opposition?
On one side are longstanding members who have invested years in the party and who believe that their loyalty should count.
On the other are politicians and supporters who have recently joined the party and who also expect recognition and political relevance. The ability to balance these competing expectations could become one of the most important tests of APC’s internal management in Kano before 2027.
The party maintains structures across Kano’s 44 local government areas and 484 wards, with local government executives and grassroots party structures spread across the state.
These are not merely administrative numbers.
Behind every ward are political organisers, polling-unit agents, youth leaders, women leaders, ward executives, former office holders, community influencers and ordinary members who constitute the machinery required to convert political popularity into votes.
The reality of Nigerian elections is that political campaigns may be designed at the top, but elections are ultimately fought at the bottom. The politician who cannot reach the ward cannot easily reach the polling unit.
And the politician who loses the confidence of the polling-unit worker may discover, too late, that popularity among political elites does not automatically translate into electoral strength.
Among some APC members in Kano, there is a growing argument that the party needs to do more to recognise its longstanding members. Their concern is not necessarily that every loyalist must receive a government appointment. Rather, they want to feel that their contribution has meaning.
They want their views considered.
They want political information to reach them. They want opportunities for empowerment to be distributed transparently.
They want young people and women who have spent years working for the party to have a place in its future.
And, perhaps most importantly, they want those who stood by the party when it was politically difficult to be remembered when the political environment becomes favourable.
This is a legitimate organisational question for any political party.
A party that only remembers its members during elections risks creating a transactional relationship with its supporters.
But a party that maintains regular contact with its grassroots creates something much more valuable: political loyalty.
Another source of discussion is the number of Kano indigenes who have received appointments under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration.
The Federal Government has indeed appointed prominent Kano figures to important positions. For example, former Kano Governor and former APC National Chairman Dr Abdullahi Umar Ganduje was appointed Chairman of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) board in January 2025.
Such appointments are significant because they demonstrate the presence of Kano political figures within the federal establishment.
But an important distinction must be made.
A federal appointment is not the same thing as a party empowerment programme.
A person appointed to a government position may have a defined statutory responsibility and may not have the authority to distribute political opportunities to party members. Therefore, the real issue should not be whether every appointee has personally empowered party supporters.
The more important question is whether the APC leadership has developed an effective mechanism through which the party’s grassroots members can be heard, supported and incorporated into the broader political strategy.
The discussion inevitably brings the names of some of Kano’s most influential APC figures into focus. Among them are former governor and former APC National Chairman Dr Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, Deputy President of the Senate Senator Barau I. Jibrin, Senator Kawu Sumaila, Bichi Federal Constituency representative Abubakar Abba Bichi, Hon Baffa Babba Dan Agundi and other political stakeholders.
Their influence gives them an important responsibility.
The challenge before them is not merely to win political contests themselves, but to create a political structure in which ordinary members believe they have a future.
There is evidence that some of these leaders have already undertaken grassroots empowerment efforts.
In February 2025, Senator Barau was reported to have distributed 61 vehicles and 1,137 motorcycles to APC leaders across Kano’s 44 local government areas and 484 wards as part of an effort to strengthen the party’s grassroots machinery.
That is significant.
But political empowerment of party structures must go beyond vehicles and motorcycles.
It must also include communication, participation, capacity building, political education and genuine inclusion.
One organisation that deserves attention in this discussion is the New APC Ambassadors 44 Local Government Areas, which has been associated with grassroots mobilisation in Kano.
The group has been described by its supporters as having a large membership across the state’s 44 local government areas, with a claim of more than 120,000 members.
That figure should, however, be treated as an organisational claim unless independently verified through membership records.
Nevertheless, the broader point remains important.
If a grassroots organisation has tens of thousands of active supporters, its political relevance cannot simply be ignored.
The APC should be interested in knowing who these people are, where they operate, what motivates them and what concerns they have.
Grassroots organisations can become powerful instruments for political mobilisation — but only when party leadership maintains a relationship of trust with them.
Interestingly, APC grassroots mobilisation in Kano has intensified in 2026. Recent reports indicate that the party is operating structures across all 44 local governments, 484 wards and polling units as part of its strategy for 2027.
History has repeatedly demonstrated that political parties rarely collapse simply because they lack influential leaders. They collapse when the gap between the leadership and the grassroots becomes too wide.
When ordinary members begin to believe that their sacrifices are forgotten, several things can happen.
Some stop attending meetings.
Some refuse to mobilise voters.
Some begin supporting individual politicians rather than the party.
And some eventually leave the party. That is why political exclusion can be more dangerous than an open disagreement.
An argument can be resolved.
But sustained feelings of neglect can quietly destroy loyalty.
The APC in Kano is not unfamiliar with internal political disagreements.
In December 2025, former Kano Municipal lawmaker Sha’aban Sharada publicly challenged what he described as an alleged endorsement of another aspirant by Ganduje, arguing that democratic processes should be respected.
Such incidents illustrate the wider challenge confronting the party: how to manage competing ambitions while maintaining unity.
The situation becomes even more sensitive as politicians position themselves for 2027.
Recent reports also show Senator Barau urging APC members in Kano North to avoid internal divisions and warning against what he described as a “self-inflicted” crisis ahead of the elections. That warning is significant.
The arrival of new members into a political party is not itself a problem. Indeed, successful political parties must continually expand.The problem arises when new entrants are perceived to receive immediate access to influence while longstanding members feel they are being pushed aside.
The APC must therefore avoid creating a perception that political loyalty is worthless.
A party member who spent years defending the APC should not be made to feel like a stranger simply because another politician joined the party at a more politically advantageous moment.
At the same time, new members must also be integrated fairly.
The answer is not to reject new entrants.
The answer is to build a system in which old members are respected and new members are properly integrated.
The APC’s ambition in Kano is clear: it wants to consolidate its position and translate the current political realignment into electoral success in 2027.
But political success will not be determined by the number of prominent politicians who appear on campaign platforms.
It will be determined by what happens in the wards.
It will be determined by what happens in the polling units.
It will be determined by whether the party’s grassroots workers wake up on election morning motivated to defend the party’s votes.
It will be determined by whether women mobilisers, youth organisers, ward executives and community leaders believe they have a stake in the political project. In other words, 2027 will test APC’s political architecture.
There are several practical steps the party could take.
First, the leadership should organise a comprehensive consultation involving representatives from all 44 local government areas.
Second, it should establish a formal grievance and feedback mechanism through which members can communicate directly with party leadership.
Third, the party should maintain regular meetings with ward executives and grassroots activists rather than waiting until election campaigns begin.
Fourth, greater emphasis should be placed on youth and women participation, not merely as campaign crowds but as participants in decision-making.
Fifth, longstanding members should be recognised for their service through structured party awards, training, leadership opportunities and empowerment programmes.
Sixth, new entrants should be integrated through clear rules that prevent unnecessary rivalry between old and new members.
Seventh, the party should develop a transparent database of its active grassroots members and organisers. This would help distinguish genuine grassroots structures from inflated political claims.
Ultimately, the APC’s challenge in Kano is bigger than the question of appointments.
A political party can survive without giving every member a government position.
But it cannot survive indefinitely if its members lose faith in its leadership.
A loyal party member may accept that he cannot become a commissioner, board chairman, legislator or special adviser.
But he will find it difficult to accept being ignored, humiliated or treated as irrelevant after years of service.
That is why political leadership requires something more than the distribution of positions.
It requires recognition.
It requires consultation.
It requires fairness.
And above all, it requires the ability to make ordinary members believe that they are part of the political future.
Kano remains one of Nigeria’s most politically consequential states. Its huge population, extensive grassroots political networks and history of competitive elections make it strategically important to every major political party.
For APC, the current political realignment provides a major opportunity.
The party now has to reconcile different political interests, accommodate new entrants, preserve the loyalty of old members and build a coherent grassroots structure capable of delivering votes in 2027.
The question therefore is no longer simply: Who are the biggest political leaders in Kano APC? The more important question is: Where are the men and women who kept the party alive when it was difficult, and do they still believe that they have a place in its future? That is the question APC leaders must answer before the campaign drums become louder.
Because elections are not won by political titles alone.
And behind every political leader who appears on the stage are thousands of ordinary party members who knock on doors, attend meetings, mobilise voters, defend candidates and stand beside the ballot box.
Ignore them at your own political risk.
The concerns being expressed by some old APC members in Kano should not necessarily be interpreted as rebellion against the party. They can instead be understood as a warning — and an opportunity. A warning that grassroots loyalty should not be taken for granted.
And an opportunity for the party to rebuild its internal structures before 2027.
The APC has influential leaders, a growing political structure and an expanded political base in Kano. But its greatest asset remains the ordinary member.
If those members feel respected, consulted and included, the party can transform its current political momentum into lasting grassroots strength.
If they feel abandoned, the party may discover that political strength at the top does not automatically translate into loyalty at the bottom.
In Kano politics, the road to 2027 will ultimately run through the grassroots. By Bala Salihu Dawakin Kudu Political Analyst / Northern Bureau Chief
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(Democracy Newsline Newspaper, September 2nd 2026)
