Senator Aliyu Wadada’s return to the All Progressives Congress (APC) from the Social Democratic Party (SDP) is already stirring political waters in Nasarawa, with analysts saying it is a signal for an early tightening of the ruling party’s grip on the state ahead of the next general election.
Wadada, who currently represents Nasarawa West, was seen at the presidential villa on Tuesday meeting with President Bola Tinubu to formally announce his defection. His move comes amid speculation about his 2027 governorship ambitions.
While he described his earlier departure from the APC as “just circumstantial,” the senator wasted no time pledging loyalty to Tinubu, declaring “there is no vacancy in Aso Rock” until 2031 — a remark widely read as an early campaign endorsement for the president’s re-election bid.
Political observers say the defection is less about personal political comfort and more about strategic positioning. By pulling a sitting senator from the SDP — one of the few opposition voices with federal presence in the state — the APC strengthens its legislative base and weakens SDP’s bargaining power in Nasarawa politics.
“The APC is methodically pulling influential players into its tent well before the election season,” one Abuja-based analyst noted. “Moves like this lock down grassroots structures and leave little oxygen for opposition growth.”
Wadada insisted that the SDP had not offended him, but his return underscores the fluidity — and fragility — of Nigeria’s party system, where ideology often gives way to political expediency.
For now, the senator’s crossover not only boosts APC’s numbers but also signals that the 2027 contest in Nasarawa may have effectively begun — two years early, and on the ruling party’s terms.
