Asia Muhammad Ahmad

On 24 May 2026, I wrote that the brewing war inside Kaduna ADC was slowly turning into a political movie, and asked whether loyalty would eventually be rewarded or forgotten when it was time to share the spoils. Today, the plot has changed. Jafaru Sani and Bashir Saidu were among the prominent El-Rufai loyalists who stood by Malam through difficult political seasons, including serious legal and political battles. They were not people who discovered El-Rufai when it became convenient. Then came the ADC chapter. Isa Ashiru Kudan secured the ADC governorship ticket, while Jafaru Sani finished second. The primary generated its own controversies, and Maina Waziri has also since left the party. Now Jafaru and Bashir have returned to the APC and aligned themselves with Governor Uba Sani. I have personally had a conversation with Jafaru, and one thing was very clear: he still holds Malam Nasir El-Rufai in very high regard. But his political choice today is Uba Sani. And that is where the irony becomes interesting. For years, many people in the El-Rufai camp had a very different assessment of Governor Uba Sani. Today, one of the people who stood firmly within that camp has chosen to support him. Jafaru’s position is essentially that you can continue to respect Malam El-Rufai while choosing a different political direction. And if the argument is about competence and experience, the question should be asked honestly: among the candidates currently before Kaduna, what does each person bring to the table? Uba Sani has served as a Senator and is now completing his first term as Governor. Ashiru, on the other hand, served in the House of Representatives and contested the governorship twice, losing to El-Rufai in 2019 and finishing behind Uba Sani in 2023. Interestingly, Malam El-Rufai himself has made strong criticisms of Ashiru’s capacity in the past. Those old statements are now part of the political record and make today’s realignment even more interesting. Jafaru can respect El-Rufai, remember everything they went through together, and still conclude that Uba Sani is the candidate he wants to support for Kaduna’s next chapter. That is politics. The Kaduna political equation has changed again. The movie I wrote about in May has not ended. The characters have simply changed positions.