Ali Makoda, chief of staff to Abdullahi Ganduje, governor of Kano state, has defected from the All Progressives Congress (APC) to the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP).
Ganduje appointed Makoda chief of staff in 2019. Makoda had previously served as the commissioner for the environment.
In April, he tendered his resignation as chief of staff, but Ganduje rejected his letter.
He was said to have joined NNPP on Friday night after a meeting with Rabiu Kwankwaso, former governor of the state.
Kwankwaso is also a presidential hopeful on the platform of the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP).
Kwankwaso was said to have received Makoda and other defectors at his Miller road residence in Kano.
Other APC members in the state who dumped the ruling party alongside Makoda were Badamasi Ayyuba, a member, of the house of representatives; Murtala Sule Kore, member, a member of the state house of assembly; Alhaji Mamuda, chairman of Makoda LGA.
Abdulmumin Jibrin, a former house of the representative member and director-general of the Bola Tinubu support group, was also said to have joined NNPP on Friday, after a meeting with Kwankwaso.
Meanwhile, Ibrahim Shekarau, a former Kano governor, is also rumored to be making plans to join the NNPP.