…Why PDP Members Are Abandoning Governor’s Party,
…Other Details Inclusive
By Fatima Bello
Fresh facts have emerged on why the All Progressives Congress (APC) outrightly rejected overtures from Governor Dauda Lawal of Zamfara State to join its ranks.
The governor, it was gathered, has been branded a “political liability” whose entry would “spell doom” for the party’s prospects in the North-West ahead of the 2027 elections.
This firm stance comes amid a torrent of defections from the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), with key lawmakers, ward leaders, and even a gubernatorial-backed candidate abandoning ship, citing the governor’s “woeful failures” in governance as the primary catalyst.
Sources close to the APC’s state and national leadership, speaking exclusively to Aljazirah on condition of anonymity, revealed that Governor Lawal’s repeated lobbying attempts – including a high-stakes meeting with President Bola Tinubu at the Aso Rock Villa earlier this week – were met with outright dismissal.
“The governor’s administration has presided over unprecedented insecurity, infrastructural decay, and economic stagnation,” one senior APC figure confided.
“Welcoming him would not only tarnish our image but also alienate our growing youth base, who see him as the architect of Zamfara’s woes.”
The APC’s rejection is rooted in several damning indictments against Lawal’s two-year tenure.
First, his alleged ties to controversial figures from past administrations, including former Petroleum Minister Diezani Alison-Madueke and ex-Central Bank Governor Godwin Emefiele, have raised red flags about potential corruption probes.
Insiders claim Lawal’s defection bid is less about ideology and more about seeking a “soft landing” from federal anti-graft agencies like the EFCC and ICPC, which have reportedly been sniffing around his financial dealings. 
Second, the governor’s handling of the state’s security crisis – a perennial albatross in banditry-plagued Zamfara – has been lambasted as politicized incompetence.
Despite campaign promises to eradicate banditry “within two months,” attacks have intensified, with military withdrawals from key bases attributed to Abuja’s distrust of his administration. 
The governor has been accused of “hypocritically” blaming federal forces while his failures drive PDP defections, while “members are fleeing a party under a leader who lacks direction.”  
Compounding these issues is Lawal’s alleged misuse of state funds on political vendettas, including a reported ₦4 billion sunk into a failed by-election bid for a PDP candidate who promptly defected to the APC afterward.  
The governor has been slammed for his “reckless spending on futile pursuits,” which exemplifies the “incompetence” defining his rule. 
Several groups had cautioned that Lawal’s record – marked by unpaid salaries, institutional breakdowns, and a surge in banditry – makes him “unfit for the ruling party’s fold.”  
As the APC fortifies its barriers, the PDP in Zamfara is hemorrhaging members at an alarming rate, with defections accelerating over the past fortnight.
The most high-profile exit came on Tuesday when Hon. Maharazu Salisu, representing Maradun II Constituency in the Zamfara State House of Assembly, led a mass crossover to the APC at the party’s Gusau secretariat.
Flanked by five PDP ward chairmen – including Ahmad Lawal of Gidan Goga Ward, Sanusi Ahmad Liman of Tsibiri Ward, and Lawal Mohammed of Kaya Ward – Salisu lambasted Lawal for “abandoning loyalists” and failing to deliver on core pledges like security and constituency projects.  
 “My constituents summoned me; they’ve seen no dividends of democracy under this PDP,” Salisu declared, vowing that his move signals the “end of Lawal’s grip on the assembly.” 
This follows a pattern of betrayals: Last week, former PDP by-election candidate Muhammad Lawal Kuryar Madaro – whom sources say Lawal bankrolled with billions – defected, blaming “rising insecurity and leadership drift.” 
Earlier, Hon. Maharazu Faru (Maradun II) cited “neglect and unfulfilled promises” in his jump to the APC, accompanied by hundreds of supporters. 
Reports now swirl of seven more PDP lawmakers poised to follow, potentially slashing Lawal’s assembly allies to just four – a precarious minority that could trigger impeachment proceedings.  
APC State Chairman Hon. Tukur Danfulani Maikatako hailed the influx as proof that “Zamfara will soon be entirely APC,” crediting ex-governors Bello Matawalle and Abdulaziz Yari for “shrinking the PDP through superior vision.” 
Governor Lawal, who jetted to Abuja post-defections for crisis talks with Tinubu, has downplayed the turmoil.
Yet, insiders paint a grimmer picture: Late-night huddles with wavering lawmakers reveal a governor in “panic mode,” desperate to stem the bleed before it erodes his re-election bid.
Other details emerging from our probe paint a state on the brink. The APC’s assembly dominance (now 13 seats to PDP’s 11) has stalled Lawal’s ₦545 billion 2025 budget, deemed “illegal” for procedural lapses amid suspended members.  
