Shettima welcomes opposition figures into APC in Katsina

Vice-President Kashim Shettima has received prominent politicians from opposition parties into the All Progressives Congress during a one-day official visit to Katsina State. The reception took place at the People’s Square at the Katsina State Government House on Sunday. Addressing party supporters, Shettima said the defections represented growing confidence in the APC and Governor Dikko Radda’s leadership.

“Katsina is for Dikko Radda. It is not for anyone,” Shettima declared. He praised the governor’s performance and urged APC members to remain united ahead of the 2027 general elections.

Radda said the new entrants included former Katsina Secretary to the State Government and former APC governorship aspirant Mustapha Muhammad Inuwa, former House of Representatives members Aminu Chindo and Abdul-Aziz Dandume, and former local government chairman Bala Baure. He also listed a former ADC legal adviser, Barrister Auwalu, and Sallau Karawa, alongside other opposition leaders, serving lawmakers and political stakeholders from the Peoples Democratic Party, African Democratic Congress and Action Alliance. Radda said the defections would strengthen the APC’s grassroots structure and improve its prospects in future elections.

He reaffirmed support for President Bola Tinubu’s re-election bid in 2027 and for APC candidates across Katsina. The governor also pointed to federal projects and interventions in the state, saying cooperation between the federal and state governments was supporting infrastructure, economic growth and welfare programmes. Speaking for the defectors, Inuwa called his return to the APC a homecoming and urged members to focus on winning elections and strengthening the party.