At least five political appointees serving under Katsina State Governor Dikko Umaru Radda have resigned from their positions within days, amid growing political activity in the state ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The latest resignation came from Muhammad Shitu Maslaha, Deputy Commander of the Katsina State Hisbah Board in charge of Operations, who submitted his resignation on October 6, 2026.
His departure followed that of the Commander-General of the state Hisbah Board, Dr Aminu Usman, popularly known as Abu Ammar, who left his position on October 5.
Other officials who have recently resigned include the Chairman of the Katsina State Pilgrims Welfare Board, Alhaji Kabir Bature Sarkin Alhazai; Fadila Sani Dalhatu, Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on State Project Implementation, Monitoring and Evaluation; and Special Adviser on Youth Development, Alhaji Abubakar Soja Tsanni.
The resignations have attracted attention within political circles, particularly against the backdrop of reported disagreements within the Katsina chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Some sources within the party reportedly linked the development to political realignments involving Ibrahim Kabir Masari, Special Adviser to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Political Affairs.
However, there is no public statement from the departing officials directly linking their resignations to any disagreement with Governor Radda. The Katsina State Government has also not officially described the departures as a coordinated action or evidence of an internal crisis.
Earlier in the year, two other political appointees also left the administration. Katsina Commissioner for Environment, Hamza Suleiman Faskari, resigned in March to pursue an elective position in the 2027 elections, while Special Assistant Shehu Abdu Daura reportedly stepped down to pursue the APC ticket for Katsina North Senatorial District.
Political analyst Ahmed Baba Kado of the Good Governance Initiative said the latest departures could point to disagreements within the Katsina APC, while cautioning that unresolved internal differences could affect the party’s organisation ahead of the 2027 elections.
However, Dr Bala Abdullahi, a lecturer at Umaru Musa Yar’Adua University, offered another perspective, describing political resignations as common and saying they can result from personal political ambitions or dissatisfaction.
The developments come as political activity increases in Katsina, following the return of former Secretary to the State Government Mustapha Muhammad Inuwa and other politicians to the APC in the presence of Vice-President Kashim Shettima.
The series of resignations has therefore added another layer to the political developments in Katsina as parties and political actors position themselves ahead of the 2027 elections.
For now, the exact reasons behind the recent departures remain varied, with the affected officials yet to publicly present a common explanation for their decisions.
