A former gubernatorial aspirant in Adamawa State on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Dr Umar Ardo, has declared that the recent wave of defections into the All Progressives Congress (APC) will not guarantee the party’s success in northern Nigeria.
He particularly said that no governor, regardless of his influence, can deliver the region to the APC in the 2027 presidential election, taking into consideration, the monumental level of hunger, sufferings and deliberate poverty created by the APC-led government.
Ardo, who stated these when he featured in TRUST TV interview, said he is familiar with the political terrain of northern Nigeria and emphasised that grassroots voters in the region are not easily swayed by elite political movements.
In the words of Ardo; “The assumption that bringing governors into the APC will automatically translate into electoral victory is deeply flawed. The people understand what is going on and are no more ready to mortgage their future in the hands of leaders they can no longer and do not trust.
“The North has a history of independent political behaviour, and that the loyalty of voters cannot be transferred simply through political alliances or defections,” he said.
Ardo therefore warned that overreliance on governors to secure votes could backfire for the ruling party.
He further said; “The APC should forget about the presidency. The APC bringing all governors into its fold will amount to nothing. The PDP did it before and what happened?
“Where will any governor gather the votes from? I come from northern Nigeria and I can guarantee you, there is no way that any governor will deliver the APC in northern Nigeria. Not anywhere, but if they say they will, let us wait and see what it would translate to,” he said.
