Following the unresolved internal wrangling within the All Progressive Congress,APC, resulting from the recently concluded primaries in Kebbi State, the Senator representing Kebbi South, Garba Musa Maidoki, has defected from the ruling party to the African Democratic Congress (ADC).

Maidoki who chairs the Senate Committee on Legislative Compliance and serves as the Vice-Chairman of the Senate Committee on Information and National Orientation cited unresolved internal wrangling within the APC following the just concluded primaries as the reason for his action.
Madoki was among the lawmakers screened out of the primaries.

Senator Maidoki stated that his decision followed, “wide consultations with constituents” in a letter addressed to the Senate President and read during Tuesday’s plenary.

He explained that his action was triggered by protracted problems arising from the APC primaries

The Deputy Senate President, Jibrin Barau, who presided over the plenary, urged the lawmaker to step down his defection to allow room for reconciliation as the APC in Kebbi does not have a fundamental crisis and that Maidoki’s grievances could be resolved internally.

Barau said, “I wish to intervene and plead with the distinguished senator to rescind his decision. There is no internal problem in the APC in Kebbi State. This is more of a family dispute and we can reconcile. I move that this defection be stepped down for reconciliation.”

Maidoki rejected the intervention, saying that he had already made up his mind as his exit adds to a string of defections from the APC to the ADC in recent months, with discontent over party primaries and internal disputes pushing some lawmakers toward the opposition.

The ADC has increasingly positioned itself as an alternative for politicians aggrieved by the ruling party’s internal processes ahead of the 2027 general elections.

Maidoki’s defection is likely to deepen those divisions and significantly alter the political calculation in Kebbi South.

The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has presented Certificates of Return to candidates who emerged victorious in the bye-elections conducted on June 20, 2026, across Rivers, Enugu, Nasarawa, Ondo and Kano States.

The development was disclosed in a statement issued by the electoral commission.

According to INEC, the certificates were presented on behalf of the Commission’s Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, SAN, by the Supervising National Commissioner for Rivers State, Mrs May Agbamuche-Mbu.

Speaking during the presentation, Agbamuche-Mbu congratulated the successful candidates and urged them to prioritise the interests of the people they were elected to represent.

“The most important responsibility before you is to represent your constituents well,” Agbamuche-Mbu said.

The National Commissioner also reminded the winners of the expectations placed on them by voters and encouraged them to serve with diligence and commitment.

INEC further disclosed that Certificates of Return would also be presented to winners of other recently concluded elections, including the Zuru State Constituency election in Kebbi State and the governorship election in Ekiti State.

INEC said the presentation of the certificates followed the conclusion of the bye-elections conducted on June 20, 2026.

The National Chairman of the Peoples Redemption Party, Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, has clarified that the party did not sell any nomination forms to the Vice-Presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, NDC, Rabi’u Kwankwaso.

Baba-Ahmed made this clarification on Tuesday when he appeared as a guest in an interview on Arise Television’s ‘Morning Show’.

He was reacting to the allegation that Kwankwaso bought 69 nomination forms to take control of the party ahead of the 2027 elections.

The National Chairman echoed PRP secretary, Alhaji Musa Maigari, who described the allegation as false, insisting that Kwankwaso neither purchased nomination forms nor has any official connection with the party.

According to him: “This is complete fiction, and I am grateful for the opportunity to clarify this. The real state chairman of the PRP in Kano had released a statement saying this is just a complete lie.

“There’s no way Kwankwaso could have bought 69 forms from the PRP in Kano. We don’t sell forms in Kano. We sell forms from Abuja.

“The man who claimed that 69 forms were sold to Kwankwaso is not known to the party. He holds no position, has no authority to sell nomination forms on behalf of the party, and we do not recognise him.

“It is possible that this entire thing has been contrived as part of some problems or some politics in Kano. As far as the PRP is concerned, we sold forms to everybody else from Abuja.

“We sold forms to candidates from Kano. They registered, they contested, they went through primaries more than a month ago.”