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🇳🇬 Nigeria /Elections & Politics

2027: Sokoto PDP chair dismisses ex-chair’s defection to ADC

From The Punch · () English

Summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Named sources Context piece
  • Sokoto PDP Chairman Hayatu Tafida Aminu dismissed former chairman Muhammad Bello Aliyu Goronyo’s move to the ADC as unsurprising.
  • Aminu accused Goronyo of acting as an ADC member for months while still holding the PDP chairmanship.
  • He said his faction controlled the party’s authentic structure after INEC uploaded its candidates for the 2027 elections.

Sokoto PDP Chairman Hayatu Tafida Aminu has described former state chairman Muhammad Bello Aliyu Goronyo’s defection to the African Democratic Congress as “not a surprise.”

not a surprise

— Hayatu Tafida AminuThe Sokoto PDP chairman described Goronyo’s defection to the ADC.

Goronyo resigned from the PDP on August 30, 2026, and was appointed director-general of the ADC governorship campaign for Manir Muhammad Dan’Iya only hours later. Aminu alleged that Goronyo had effectively left the PDP about nine months earlier, while continuing to present himself as the party’s state chairman.

“Bello Goronyo was the former chairman of the PDP, but he left the party about nine months ago because, in the Nigerian context, he cannot be in two parties at the same time,” Aminu said. He accused Goronyo of acting as a “de facto member of ADC” while holding the PDP position.

Bello Goronyo was the former chairman of the PDP, but he left the party about nine months ago because, in the Nigerian context, he cannot be in two parties at the same time

— Hayatu Tafida AminuAminu accused Goronyo of abandoning the PDP before formally resigning.

Aminu said Goronyo’s new campaign appointment simply formalised an existing relationship with the opposition party. He also said the factional crisis within the Sokoto PDP had been resolved, claiming that his leadership had rebuilt party structures from the ward level, conducted internal elections and produced candidates for the 2027 elections.

He was acting as a de facto member of ADC while also parading himself as chairman of the PDP, which is not possible

— Hayatu Tafida AminuAminu alleged that Goronyo maintained ties with the ADC while holding the PDP chairmanship.

According to Aminu, INEC uploaded the candidates produced by his faction, which he said showed that the electoral body recognised it as the authentic PDP structure in the state. He rejected claims from Goronyo’s faction that a court judgment recognised neither rival group, calling that position their interpretation of the ruling. Aminu also pointed to the departure of other figures linked to the rival faction as evidence that they had abandoned the PDP.

Fortunately enough, INEC uploaded our candidates as the authentic members of the PDP and contestants. Everybody could see it at the INEC offices

— Hayatu Tafida AminuAminu cited INEC’s candidate uploads as evidence supporting his faction.
About this summary

Originally published by The Punch. Summarized and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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