by Mohammed Bello Doka
25 June, 2026.
The All Progressives Congress recently contested a state assembly bye-election in Kebbi State where the two major opposition parties, the PDP and ADC, did not even field candidates. Only the Labour Party, a political unknown in the state, was on the ballot. Yet against non-existent competition, the APC managed a paltry 4,871 votes out of 109,385 registered voters. That is less than five percent. Observers argue even that figure was inflated, as total valid votes cast stood at just 5,055. Essentially, the APC secured votes from its own agents and officials. A theatrical display in an empty auditorium.
The party responded by suspending its state chairman, Abubakar Kana-Zuru, and the Zuru LGA chairman, Aliyu Abiola, citing lukewarm attitude, poor engagement, and failed mobilisation. The state government also suspended the Commissioner for Livestock, Kabir Zuru. But suspending a few officials is not a solution; it is a face-saving gimmick. You cannot punish your way out of fundamental rejection.
Yet this is the same party promising millions of votes to President Tinubu in 2027. Governor Nasir Idris has publicly vowed Kebbi is for Tinubu, assuring the presidency of a massive harvest. This is not optimism; it is grand deception. The gap between rhetoric and reality is so vast it borders on insult. Either the governor lives in a parallel universe, or he believes the presidency is too distant to verify the truth. The people of Zuru spoke with their feet, and they said nothing.
The people have deserted the APC not only in Kebbi but across the North. The low turnout was not a logistical accident; it was a silent protest against empty promises. The APC is now seen not as a vehicle for progress, but as a symbol of state capture and collective betrayal. The suspensions only confirm panic, scrambling to blame individuals for a systemic rot that begins at the top.
As 2027 approaches, the people must reject the temptation of rice and noodles, transactional bribes disguised as palliatives. These are sedatives to keep you quiet while resources are looted. The North has received these token gifts for decades, and in return has gotten insecurity, poverty, and illiteracy. How long will we trade our future for a plate of food? The APC celebrated a victory of under 5,000 votes as if it were a mandate. They are laughing at our intelligence.
But we must also warn against boycotting the 2027 election. That narrative is a dangerous manipulation that only entrenches the corrupt status quo. When good people stay home, they hand the country to those who destroyed it. A boycott will not change anything; it will only return the same ineffective government where insecurity, poverty, and illiteracy flourish. The vote is our only weapon. We must use it, not by retreating, but by advancing to the polling units and voting out the architects of our decay.
The message from Zuru is unmistakable: the emperor has no clothes. The APC is a corpse in Kebbi, propped up only by delusions. The only question is, who is deceiving the President about his party? And will he wake up before 2027, or allow himself to be led into a political grave? The people have already chosen. It is time for the presidency to see the writing on the wall.
Mohammed Bello Doka can be reached via [email protected]
Abuja Network News
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Opinion