Amid N155m Money Laundering Trial, El-Rufai’s Ex-Chief of Staff Bashir Sa’idu Dumps ADC for APC, Vows to Deliver 11 LGAs in Zazzau
Former Kaduna governor Nasir El-Rufai’s staunch ally and ex-Chief of Staff, Bashir Sa’idu, has defected from the African Democratic Congress, ADC, to the All Progressives Congress, APC, promising to mobilise thousands of his supporters for Governor Uba Sani ahead of the 2027 elections.
Sa’idu, who also served as Commissioner for Finance under El-Rufai, made the pledge when the governor’s Special Adviser on Domestic Affairs, Isa Lawal, visited him at his residence.
He said his return to the APC was not an individual move, adding that he had brought along a large network of supporters who would demonstrate their political strength during the elections.
Sa’idu specifically promised to deliver the 11 local government areas that make up the Zazzau Emirate to the APC.
“I will not boast about my capacity in other areas, but in the 11 local governments of Zazzau Emirate, we will show our strength, and no one has the kind of followers that we have,” he said.
He also said the APC would secure more votes in the Zaria Local Government Area than the votes recorded for former President Muhammadu Buhari in previous elections.
‘We did not leave ADC alone’
Sa’idu said his defection was intended to prove wrong to those who believed he left the ADC alone.
He cited the Lere Local Government Area, where he claimed about 3,091 ADC card-carrying members joined the APC. He further claimed that there were groups of about 4,000 supporters in some other local government areas.
The former Chief of Staff said he moved to the APC with about 10,000 supporters, describing them as people who had demonstrated political loyalty to his camp.
“We will prove that Allah has endowed us with supporters, and these people believe in us politically. We have been meeting and fashioning out modalities of how we will win elections,” he said.
He added that his political network extended beyond Zaria to Igabi and Kaduna South local government areas.
Sa’idu, however, acknowledged that his mobilisation would not prevent the state government from conducting its own political planning.
He said his group could either work alongside the government’s political structure or operate independently and meet at the polls.
From El-Rufai’s inner circle to Uba Sani’s camp
Sa’idu’s latest move is significant because of his long relationship with El-Rufai. The two knew each other since their days at Barewa College, Zaria.
During El-Rufai’s eight-year administration in Kaduna, Sa’idu held senior positions, including Commissioner for Finance and, later, Chief of Staff.
Sa’idu was also among the prominent figures who followed El-Rufai from the APC to the ADC.
Earlier in September, Sa’idu and other El-Rufai associates announced their return to the APC and support for Governor Uba Sani.
Former commissioner Jafaru Sani confirmed that the group had returned to the APC, adding that they were bringing with them more than 150,000 registered ADC members.
The group also included former Kaduna North senator Abdu Kwari and other grassroots politicians previously associated with El-Rufai.
The development came amid a broader realignment of Kaduna politicians ahead of the 2027 elections.
ADC primary deepened divisions
The political rupture followed the ADC governorship primary in May, won by former House of Representatives member Isah Ashiru with 86,113 votes.
Jafaru Sani, a former Commissioner for Education under El-Rufai, came second with 29,580 votes. He rejected the outcome, alleging irregularities in the process.
The disputed primary deepened tensions within the former governor’s political network, with reports at the time pointing to dissatisfaction among some of El-Rufai’s loyalists with the outcome and the direction of the ADC.
Ashiru has since positioned himself as the ADC’s principal challenger to Uba Sani in the 2027 Kaduna governorship contest.
Corruption Charges: ICPC Arraignment Over N155m
Meanwhile, Sa’idu is currently facing corruption charges filed by the anti-graft agency.
The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has arraigned Bashir Saidu, former chief of staff to ex-governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai, for alleged money laundering. f08d
According to court documents, the ICPC charged him at the Federal High Court Kaduna alongside Ibrahim Muktar, a public officer in the Ministry of Finance, in charge No FHC/KD/IC/2025.
ICPC alleged that sometime in March 2022, as Commissioner for Finance, he accepted cash payment of N155,000,000 from Ibrahim Muktar exceeding the amount authorised by law, which sum he received in cash through proxy Muazu Abdu, his Special Assistant.
The Commission also alleged that he indirectly took control of the N155,000,000 received in cash for and on behalf of him by Muazu Abdul from Ibrahim Muktar, which fund he reasonably ought to have known formed part of proceeds of unlawful activity to wit: corruption.
The Kaduna State House of Assembly had earlier indicted El-Rufai for allegedly siphoning over N423 billion, with many of his officials facing charges before the EFCC and ICPC.
For Sa’idu, however, the immediate challenge is now to translate his claimed grassroots network into votes while his corruption trial continues.
