The African Democratic Congress (ADC) in Katsina State has been thrown into fresh turmoil following the resignation of two prominent governorship aspirants who contested the party’s 2026 governorship ticket.
The two politicians former Katsina State Secretary to the Government (SSG), Dr Mustapha Muhammad Inuwa, and former Director-General of the Department of State Services (DSS), Lawal Musa Daura announced their departures separately on Sunday, August 9, 2026.
While Inuwa defected to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) alongside thousands of his supporters, Daura announced his move to the Allied Peoples Movement (APM).
Inuwa, a veteran politician in Katsina State and former SSG, was the first of the two to announce his resignation from the ADC.
He served as Commissioner for Education between 2003 and 2006 before becoming SSG during the administration of the late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua. He later returned to the position under former Governor Aminu Bello Masari, serving from 2015 to 2022.
In 2022, Inuwa resigned as SSG to contest the APC governorship primary. He, however, lost to the incumbent Governor, Mallam Dikko Umar Radda, who secured 506 votes against Inuwa’s 442.
Following the primary, Inuwa left the APC for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in October 2022, alongside his supporters, after disagreements over the handling of his political camp within the party.
He subsequently became a prominent PDP figure in Katsina and served as the Director-General of the Atiku Abubakar presidential campaign organisation in the state during the 2023 general elections.
By 2025, Inuwa had joined the opposition realignment around the ADC in Katsina State, where he built a strong political structure and mobilised supporters ahead of the 2027 elections.
He returned to the governorship race in 2026 on the ADC platform but later rejected the outcome of the party’s governorship primary, which produced Senator Ahmad Babba Kaita as its candidate.
Inuwa maintained his opposition to the outcome until Sunday, when he formally resigned from the ADC and announced his return to the APC.
Addressing his supporters in Katsina, Inuwa said the decision was taken in the interest of advancing their political aspirations and protecting the interests of his supporters.
His defection, reportedly accompanied by thousands of supporters, has generated reactions across the state, with political stakeholders describing the development as a potential boost for the APC ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Similarly, Lawal Musa Daura, another prominent ADC governorship aspirant, resigned from the party on Sunday and announced his decision to join the APM in Daura Local Government Area of Katsina State.
The simultaneous departure of the two influential politicians is expected to further reshape the political landscape in Katsina State as parties intensify preparations for the 2027 governorship election.
