President Bola Tinubu has held a closed-door meeting with two prominent Kano State politicians, Senator Rufai Hanga and former Senator Kabiru Gaya, at the Presidential Villa in Abuja, in what is being viewed as a major political realignment ahead of the 2027 elections.
The delegation was led by Deputy Senate President Barau Jibrin, who accompanied the two politicians to the Presidency for discussions widely linked to their planned defection to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
Sources familiar with the development say both Hanga and Gaya are expected to formally dump the New Democratic Coalition (NDC) for the APC next week, a move that could reshape Kano’s political landscape.
Senator Hanga’s decision to leave the NDC reportedly follows growing dissatisfaction within the party after he lost the Kano Central senatorial ticket and the deputy governorship slot. He was also said to have been overlooked for other strategic political appointments by the camp of Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso.
Former Senator Kabiru Gaya is also understood to have become disillusioned after his bid for the Kano South senatorial ticket was unsuccessful, with the party settling for a consensus candidate backed by Kwankwaso’s political bloc.
Although details of the meeting were not officially disclosed, the high-profile visit has intensified speculation over an imminent wave of defections from the NDC to the APC in Kano State, further strengthening the ruling party’s influence in one of Nigeria’s most politically significant states.
