Niger State’s Assembly Braces for a Wave of APC Defections to PDP

MINNA

At least ten members of the Niger State House of Assembly are reportedly preparing to defect from the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) this week, in what would be one of the more significant legislative realignments in the state ahead of the 2027 general elections.

None of the lawmakers involved has been named publicly, and the development remains unconfirmed by any of the parties directly; sources familiar with the discussions described the plan to reporters on condition that formal announcements were still pending.

A shift tied to one high-profile arrival

Findings by ValidViewNetwork show the reported defections follow closely on the heels of former Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) chairman Muhammad Nami’s own move from the APC to the PDP, after which the PDP named him its governorship candidate for Niger State, with other aspirants said to have stepped down in his favour.

Party officials have framed Nami’s emergence as a boost to the PDP’s effort to reclaim a state it has not governed in recent cycles.

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Consultations still underway

According to sources who spoke to ValidViewNetwork, the lawmakers are working through consultations with constituents and political allies before any formal announcement, with one source describing preparations as “far advanced” and stakeholders already in broad agreement.

Checks by ValidViewNetwork found no indication yet of which specific lawmakers are involved, nor whether the number could grow beyond the ten currently reported.

Part of a wider defection season

This would not be Niger State’s first brush with cross-party movement this election cycle: earlier in the year, federal lawmaker Abubakar Buba, representing Chanchaga federal constituency, defected in the opposite direction, moving from the PDP to the APC, part of a broader wave that has seen dozens of federal lawmakers across Nigeria switch platforms since the start of 2026 as parties jostle for position ahead of January’s polls.

What happens next

Should the reported defections proceed as described, they would meaningfully alter the numerical balance inside the Niger State Assembly and hand the PDP a fresh legislative foothold heading into the governorship race, though until any lawmaker formally announces a switch, on the floor of the Assembly or otherwise, the plan remains, in the words of one source, still a matter of advanced preparation rather than settled fact.