‘You’re turning Kaduna into a one-party state,’ VP tells Uba Sani

Vice President Kashim Shettima has said Governor Uba Sani’s leadership is steadily positioning Kaduna State as a one-party state, following a wave of defections from opposition parties to the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Shettima made the remark at the weekend during the commissioning of the Tudun Biri Resettlement Scheme, where he praised the governor for what he described as deliberate and inclusive efforts to expand the APC’s political base across the state.

“Governor Uba Sani, we are most grateful. You are gradually turning Kaduna into a one-party state, with House of Representatives members representing Soba, Makarfi and Kudan on their way to the APC,” the Vice President said.

Recalling the outcome of the 2023 general elections, Shettima noted that the APC had suffered significant losses in Kaduna before the recent political realignments.

“In 2023, we lost all three Senate seats to the PDP. Out of the 16 members of the National Assembly, the APC had only four. The PDP had 10, while Labour had two,” he said.

According to him, the situation has since changed due to what he described as the “conscious and deliberate efforts” of Governor Sani and party leaders, adding that several prominent opposition figures had joined the APC.

“We have in our midst former Governor Mukhtar Ramalan Yero. We have Senator Sunday Marshal,” he said.

Shettima described recent developments in Southern Kaduna as unprecedented, noting that the zone had consistently elected senators on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) since 1999.

“This is the first time in living memory that the APC has a senator in Southern Kaduna, due to the singular effort of Governor Uba Sani,” he said.

He also announced the defection of a serving House of Representatives member from Igabi Federal Constituency, which he described as one of the largest in the country, with about 600 polling units and 400,000 registered voters.

The Vice President attributed the defections to the governor’s leadership style, which he said had fostered trust across political and regional lines.

“This is leadership. Without your inclusive approach, I don’t think Sunday Marshal and other leaders in Southern Kaduna would have joined the APC,” he said.

Shettima also commended the Kaduna State Government for its collaboration with the Federal Government on the Tudun Biri Resettlement Scheme, describing it as an example of responsive governance.

Governor Uba Sani, in his remarks, thanked President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for approving Tudun Biri as the first beneficiary of the Resettlement Scheme for Persons Impacted by Conflicts, following the accidental bombing in December 2023.

He said the initiative demonstrated that peace was sustained not only through security measures but also through development, inclusion and economic opportunity.

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