A coalition calling itself the Niger State Rescue Movement, made up of prominent current and former All Progressives Congress members, including former commissioners and special advisers in Governor Mohammed Umaru Bago’s administration, has announced plans to abandon the ruling party for the opposition African Democratic Congress ahead of 2027, claiming the backing of state elders and grassroots leaders.
At a crowded press conference at the IBB Pen House in Minna, movement spokesperson Mikhail Alamin Emitoshahi, a former federal lawmaker and one time Chief of Staff to the Niger State Government House under former governor and now Senator Abubakar Sani Bello, said the decision followed wide consultations with leaders, stakeholders, youth and women across the state. After wide consultations with our leaders, stakeholders, youth and women across Niger State, we the Niger Rescue Movement Political Family has resolved to formally align with the African Democratic Congress ahead of the 2027 general elections, he said, insisting the decision was not made in haste but in the interest of the people of Niger State and Nigeria at large, and that the movement believes in politics of ideas, inclusiveness and service. In Niger State, our people deserve security, jobs, quality education, quality healthcare delivery, portable water, and good roads, he said, we believe the ADC platform gives us the best opportunity to drive that agenda, describing the party as a credible platform for new thinking, internal democracy and giving Nigerians, especially youth, a genuine voice in 2027.
Emitoshahi said the movement will mobilise its structures across all 25 local government areas to campaign for ADC victory, carrying its message to every ward, village and polling unit while steering clear of politics of bitterness, focused instead on solutions for Niger State. He called on NRM members, supporters and well meaning citizens across the state to join the movement, framing 2027 as being about the future of the state’s children, and thanked the ADC’s national and state leadership for opening their doors to the group. We are home, we are ready, and by the grace of God, Niger State will be better for it, he declared. Immediate past Commissioner for Water Resources Mamman Musa said the movement is spread across all 25 local governments with eyes and ears in every unit of the state, pledging it would galvanise voters toward victory. The ruling APC had not responded to the development at the time of reporting.
