Vice President Kashim Shettima has declared that Governor Uba Sani’s leadership is rapidly reshaping Kaduna State’s political landscape, with the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) edging towards dominance following a wave of high-profile defections from opposition parties.
Shettima made the remark at the weekend during the commissioning of the Tudun Biri Resettlement Scheme, where he praised the governor’s approach to governance, describing it as deliberate, inclusive and strategically effective in expanding the APC’s influence across the state.
“Governor Uba Sani, we are most grateful. You are gradually turning Kaduna into a one-party state,” the Vice President said, revealing that House of Representatives members from Soba, Makarfi and Kudan federal constituencies were already on their way to joining the APC.
Reflecting on the 2023 general elections, Shettima acknowledged that Kaduna had been a difficult battleground for the APC. He noted that the party lost all three senatorial seats to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and secured only four out of the state’s 16 National Assembly seats at the time.
“In 2023, the APC had just four members in the National Assembly. The PDP had 10, while the Labour Party had two,” he recalled.
According to the Vice President, the political tide has since turned sharply, crediting what he called the “conscious and deliberate efforts” of Governor Sani and APC leaders for the ongoing realignments. He listed several prominent opposition figures who have crossed over to the ruling party, including former Kaduna State governor Mukhtar Ramalan Yero and Senator Sunday Marshall.
Shettima described recent developments in Southern Kaduna as historic, noting that the zone had consistently elected PDP senators since the return to democracy in 1999.
“This is the first time in living memory that the APC has produced a senator in Southern Kaduna, and that is largely due to the singular effort of Governor Uba Sani,” he said.
He also announced the defection of a serving House of Representatives member from the Igabi Federal Constituency, one of Nigeria’s largest constituencies, with about 600 polling units and over 400,000 registered voters.
The Vice President attributed the growing support for the APC to Governor Sani’s leadership style, which he said had built trust across political, ethnic and regional divides.
“This is leadership. Without this inclusive approach, I don’t believe leaders like Sunday Marshall and others from Southern Kaduna would have joined the APC,” Shettima added.
Beyond politics, Shettima commended the Kaduna State Government for its collaboration with the Federal Government on the Tudun Biri Resettlement Scheme, describing it as evidence of responsive, people-centred governance.
In his response, Governor Uba Sani expressed gratitude to 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 of the community in December 2023.
He said the initiative reflected the belief that lasting peace could only be achieved through development, inclusion and economic empowerment, working alongside security interventions.
