Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, and his Kano State counterpart, Abba Yusuf, are facing uncertainty over their prospects of securing second-term tickets in the All Progressives Congress (APC)
Although Fubara has formally defected to the APC and Yusuf is expected to join the ruling party following his resignation from the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), party insiders say their return tickets are far from guaranteed. Powerful party leaders and entrenched political interests in both Rivers and Kano states are reportedly contesting the governors’ ambitions.
This has sparked intense manoeuvring within the APC in the two states, with governorship aspirants insisting on transparent and competitive primaries ahead of the 2027 elections and vowing to resist any attempt to impose candidates.
Fubara defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the APC on December 9, a move widely viewed as part of a political realignment to secure his second-term bid. His defection, however, heightened tensions with the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, who has maintained that Fubara’s return is not guaranteed even within the APC.
While Wike continues to campaign for President Bola Tinubu’s second term, he has also been mobilising political stakeholders in Rivers State—across both the APC and PDP—against Fubara’s re-election bid.
In Kano, Governor Yusuf resigned from the NNPP on Friday alongside 21 members of the State House of Assembly, eight members of the House of Representatives, and 44 local government chairmen, following weeks of speculation about his defection to the APC. However, his deputy, Aminu AbdulSalam, and NNPP National Leader, Rabiu Kwankwaso, remained in the party.
No assurance of return tickets
APC officials who spoke with Sunday PUNCH on condition of anonymity disclosed that while some governors who recently defected to the APC have been assured of return tickets, no final decision has been reached regarding Fubara and Yusuf.
A member of the APC National Working Committee cited the “peculiar political dynamics” in Rivers and Kano as obstacles to concluding negotiations on their tickets.
He explained that many former PDP governors who joined the APC did so on the understanding—approved by President Bola Tinubu—that their return tickets would be guaranteed.
“Any governor who defects to the APC is expected to get the ticket. It may not be automatic, but the expectation is there,” the official said. “However, Rivers and Kano are complicated. As things stand, no concrete agreement has been reached on Governors Fubara and Yusuf.”
Another senior APC official said the APC Governors’ Forum was working with the party’s national leadership to secure return tickets for new members, but divisions persist over the two governors. Some party leaders, he added, are unconvinced about their capacity to deliver electoral victories in their states.
“The Governors’ Forum is a powerful bloc that largely determines party decisions, except where the President has a vested interest. While decisions have been taken on some new members, Rivers remains divided and nothing definitive has been agreed for Kano,” he said.
He further noted that Yusuf’s inability to bring NNPP leader Rabiu Kwankwaso into the APC was a significant setback. In addition, former APC National Chairman Abdullahi Ganduje reportedly supports Nasiru Gawuna, the party’s 2023 governorship candidate, while Deputy Senate President Barau Jibrin is also nursing governorship ambitions.
“These issues must be resolved before anyone can say whether Governor Yusuf will get a return ticket,” the source said.
On Rivers State, the official described Wike as a dominant political force whose influence continues to work against Fubara’s ambition.
“For Fubara to secure a return ticket, there must be an understanding with Wike and other key stakeholders in Rivers. The capacity of both governors to deliver is being tested,” he added.
Aspirants push back
Meanwhile, the APC’s 2023 governorship candidate in Rivers State, Tonye Cole, has ruled out stepping down for any aspirant, insisting that he would contest the party’s primary.
Cole rejected the idea of an automatic ticket, arguing that unresolved leadership tussles within the Rivers APC further complicate the situation.
“Tony Okocha’s faction, which is aligned with Wike, controls the party structure in the state. Has that group reached an understanding with the President? That question must be answered,” he said.
He also questioned Fubara’s alignment within the party, adding, “I don’t think the governor has joined the right faction of the APC in Rivers. So, why should anyone step down?”
Similarly, the Kano State chapter of the APC has ruled out an automatic ticket for Governor Yusuf. The party’s Publicity Secretary, Ahmed Aruwa, stressed that all aspirants must contest the party primaries.
“There is no provision for automatic tickets in the APC. Every aspirant, including sitting governors who defect to the party, must go through the primaries,” Aruwa said.