APC assures Shekarau, Hayatu, Bagobiri of level playing field
By Ali Baba-Inuwa
The Kano State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC), has assured former Gov. Ibrahim Shekarau, Sen. Bello Hayatu Gwarzo and Alhaji Yahaya Bagobiri, who defected to the party from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), of level playing field.
This is contained in a statement signed by the State APC Publicity Secretary,Comrade Auwalu Abdullahi Sani Mainagge on Sunday in Kano.
“The All Progressives Congress (APC) Kano State chapter, is pleased to officially welcome three distinguished sons of Kano and elder statesmen into the fold of our great party.
“We are happy to welcome His Excellency Mallam Ibrahim ShekarauCON, Sardaunan Kano , who defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and was officially received into the APC in a grand reception in his Giginyu Ward,Nassarawa Local Government Area.
“He was received by His Excellency, Alhaji Abba Kabir Yusuf, the Executive Governor of Kano State, alongside the leadership of Kano State APC under the chairmanship of Hon.Umar Haruna Doguwa.At the occasion, Senator Shekarau was presented with his APC membership card to mark his formal entry into the party,” Mainagge said.
He said that the decision to join the progressive family was a testament to the inclusive vision, people-centered policies, and leadership of President Bola Tinubu and the APC-led administration at both federal and state levels.
Mainagge reeled out the profiles of the three political heavyweights.
“His Excellency, Senator Mallam Ibrahim Shekarau,CON, Sardaunan Kano is a career educationist and civil servant who rose from a classroom teacher to Permanent Secretary in the Kano State Civil Service before retiring voluntarily in 2001.
“He made history as the first politician to serve two consecutive terms as Governor of Kano State from 2003 to 2011. He later served as Minister of Education from 2014 to 2015 under President Goodluck Jonathan, and represented Kano Central Senatorial District in the Senate from 2019 to 2023. As governor, he was widely recognized for expanding access to education at primary,secondary, and tertiary levels. He holds the revered traditional title of Sardaunan Kano.
“Distinguished Senator Bello Hayatu Gwarzo is one of Nigeria’s longest-serving legislators, having represented Kano North Senatorial District from 1999 to 2015 across the 4th, 5th, 6th, and 7th National Assemblies. He was elected Chief Whip of the Senate from 2011 to 2015, where he earned the nickname “Mr. Order” for his firm grasp of legislative procedure.
“During his time in the Senate, he served as Chairman of the Committees on Labour and FCT, and was a member of the Police Affairs, Millennium Development Goals, and Appropriation Committees. Until recently, he served as the PDP North-West Vice Chairman, elected in May 2022, and he maintains a formidable grassroots network across Kano North,” he said.
Mainagge added: “Alhaji Yahaya Umar Bagobiri is a highly influential and well-respected grassroots politician with over three decades of active party administration. He served as Secretary and later Chairman of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) in Nassarawa Local Government Area from 1990 to 1993. He was also Assistant Secretary of the Democratic Party of Nigeria (DPN), between Kano State Chapter between 1996 and 1998, and served as Deputy Chairman of the PDP in Kano State between 2013 and 2015. For nearly 30 years, he has chaired Caucuses in Nassarawa Local Government Area, and until his defection was the Chairman of the PDP Elders Committee, Kano State. Nationally, Alhaji Bagobiri was the Kano State Coordinator of Chief M.K.O. Abiola’s presidential campaign in 1992 under the _Hope ’93_ platform.
“He also coordinated Alhaji Atiku Abubakar’s presidential election campaigns in Kano State in 2011, 2019, and 2023. His defection brings to the APC a deep institutional memory, mobilization capacity, and tested grassroots machinery.”
According to him, the defection of the three political leaders consolidates experience, institutional memory, and grassroots structures under the APC banner ahead of future elections.
“Their administrative depth — from the classroom to Government House, and from banking to the red chamber — brings proven capacity for policy formulation, education reform, and legislative oversight.
“As elder statesmen, they command respect across party lines and will serve as stabilizers in Kano’s political landscape, fostering unity and issue-based politics. Their move also sends a clear signal to the electorate that the APC remains the most credible platform for development, security, and inclusion in Northern Nigeria.
“The APC Kano State Chapter, under the leadership of Hon. Uamr Haruna Doguwa, assures our new members of a level playing field, full integration into all party organs, and the opportunity to contribute their quota to the _Renewed Hope Agenda of Mr. President and the progressive transformative Kano First Agenda of Kano State,” he said.
Mainagge urged all APC supporters to give Shekarau, Gwarzo, and Bagobiri a rousing welcome “as we work together to deliver good governance to the people of Kano State.”
