Hundreds of supporters of former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, alongside former candidates and executives of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), have defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC), declaring support for Governor Uba Sani.

The defectors, operating under the Coalition of El-Rufai Youth Groups, announced their resignation from the ADC on Thursday at the Nigeria Union of Journalists Secretariat in Kaduna.

The group comprises members of the El-Rufai Boys Vanguard, Nasiriyya Youth Movement, former ADC candidates, aspirants, party executives and grassroots mobilisers.

Its convener, Ibrahim Khalil Dan Kasa, a former ADC House of Assembly candidate for Unguwan Sanusi Constituency, said the decision followed extensive consultations across the state's three senatorial districts.

He claimed that the movement involved more than 2,000 ward coordinators, former candidates, youth mobilisers and party executives across Kaduna State.

Dan Kasa attributed their departure to alleged internal divisions, marginalisation of members, denial of party tickets to preferred aspirants and the absence of a clear policy direction within the ADC.

He cited the party's candidate selection process, particularly the alleged refusal to consider individuals recommended by El-Rufai for the Kawo and Doka Gabasawa State Assembly constituencies.

He also accused the leadership of the El-Rufai Youth Movement of failing to protect members from alleged mistreatment and neglect.

According to him, the group had supported the ADC governorship candidate, Isa Ashiru Kudan, for seven months but remained dissatisfied with what it described as the absence of a clear manifesto or policy blueprint outlining his plans for the state.

The former candidate further alleged that some members of Ashiru's campaign team had disparaged El-Rufai's political legacy despite relying on his supporters for grassroots mobilisation.

He said ward coordinators and other grassroots members were also left without adequate logistics, security and welfare support.

Explaining their decision to support Sani, Dan Kasa commended the governor for promoting infrastructural development, rural transformation, religious and ethnic harmony, as well as youth inclusion in governance.

He particularly praised the administration for completing more than 80 per cent of critical urban and infrastructure projects initiated by the previous government.

The group subsequently announced the dissolution of its political support structures within the ADC and their integration into the APC, pledging to deploy their grassroots mobilisation networks in support of Sani's administration.

However, the spokesperson for Ashiru, Abdulwaheed Olayinka Adubi, dismissed the significance of the defection, describing it as part of the normal political process.

Adubi said the ADC continued to receive new members, including defectors from other political parties, at its state and campaign offices.

He maintained that the departure of a faction of El-Rufai's support group would neither discourage the party nor weaken its governorship candidate's political ambition.

The spokesperson expressed confidence in the ADC's presence in Kaduna State, insisting that the party remained firmly established despite the development.