By Karen Ibrahim
The political machinery of Governor Ahmed Aliyu and Senator Aliyu Wamakko has single handedly shaped the direction of Sokoto State politics since 2007, and it fully understands better than anyone what it takes to win elections convincingly. Rather than relying solely on high-profile rallies and media campaigns, the All Progressives Congress (APC) has entrenched itself at the grassroots, by methodically consolidating its influence in the 244 political wards. Backed by the advantages of incumbency and an extensive network of loyal political stakeholders, the party is already prosecuting the 2027 contest through a sustained grassroots mobilisation. In Sokoto State, where political success is built on enduring relationships, its approach will prove decisive. The recent defection of Mallam Saidu Umar, the Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP) 2023 governorship candidate, to the APC is the latest indication of the ruling party’s total dominance and the mounting challenges confronting the opposition.
For the APC, campaigns are important, but they are regarded as the final flourish on a solid foundation that has long been painstakingly built.
While Sokoto State, under the purposeful leadership of Governor Ahmed Aliyu, is witnessing spectacular progress across virtually every sector— healthcare, education, agriculture, water supply, road infrastructure, housing, security, and religious affairs—the administration from day one was very mindful of the fact that it needed to continue to maintain the party for the 2027 elections.Beyond fulfilling its campaign promises, the governor and the leadership of the All Progressives Congress (APC) have deliberately been working to strengthen the political platform which brought them to power.
This strategic approach has become even more significant at a time when internal party crises have destabilised several political parties across the country, forcing many incumbent governors, lawmakers, and other elected officials to search for alternative platforms ahead of the next year elections. In contrast, the APC in Sokoto State has remained cohesive, expanding its grassroots structures, and consolidating the alliances and political networks that have underpinned its electoral success for nearly two decades.
For a start, Governor Ahmed Aliyu and his father, mentor, and political leader, Senator Aliyu Magatakarda Wamakko, have managed their relationship with remarkable maturity, leaving little room for mischief-makers to sow seeds of discord between them. In Nigerian politics, where politicians and external interests often thrive by exploiting perceived cracks within the leadership, their relationship has remained anchored on trust, consultation, and a clear understanding of their respective roles. This has made it exceedingly difficult for busybodies and political opportunists to manufacture the kind of friction that has destabilised many political families across the country. The harmony at the top has inevitably filtered down through the ranks of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Sokoto State, strengthening party cohesion, minimising internal disputes, and allowing the administration to focus on governance while the party concentrates on political consolidation.In politics, a united leadership produces a united party, and that has become one of the APC’s greatest strengths in Sokoto State.
The conduct of the party’s primaries for the various elective positions further demonstrated the cohesion within the APC in Sokoto State. Where consensus—one of the nomination methods approved by the party—was adopted, it was embraced with remarkable success, reflecting the willingness of the aspirants and stakeholders to subordinate their personal ambitions to the greater interest of the party. Rather than degenerating into the acrimonious contests that characterised the primaries of many other parties, the consensus approach in Sokoto State helped minimise internal rancour, strengthened party unity, and ensured the emergence of candidates who were accepted across the party structure. It was yet another indication of a leadership committed to consultation, accommodation, and preserving the solidarity needed to approach the elections from a position of strength.
Another important factor behind the cohesion of the APC in Sokoto State is the premium Governor Ahmed Aliyu and Senator Aliyu Wamakko place on the party and its leadership. Rather than treating the party as a mere electoral vehicle, they have consistently demonstrated respect for its structures, and members. Governor Aliyu, regularly acknowledges the authority of the party by publicly saluting the State Chairman with the refrain, “Party supremacy,” a phrase that has become symbolic of his belief that elected officials remain accountable to the platform that brought them to office.
Beyond symbolism, the administration has maintained close engagement with the party hierarchy and grassroots members, ensuring that they are carried along in the affairs of government. This culture of constant consultation, mutual respect, and recognition has strengthened confidence, reduced disputes, and reinforced the sense of belonging among party faithfuls. In an era when many political parties are weakened by the activities of those elected on their platforms, the APC in Sokoto State has remained united largely because its leaders have continued to accord the party executive and its members the respect and relevance they deserve.
The evolution of political parties in Nigeria was no doubt tragically disrupted by the long decades of military dictatorship, which weakened the growth of a political culture that respected the parties. This adverse affect can’t be quantified. Many politicians who grew up during the military era had little or no experience of how political parties function in a constitutional democracy and, in many cases, had unconsciously absorbed the command-and-control style associated with the military. As a result, party structures are often sidelined once elections are won, with the elected officials increasingly operating as though they owed allegiance only to themselves.
But Nigeria’s earlier democratic experience was different. During the Second Republic, President Shehu Shagari was known to regularly attend caucus meetings at the party headquarters, due to the recognition that effective governance required continuous engagement with the platform that brought him to office. Years later, President Olusegun Obasanjo also maintained regular interaction with his party’s leadership, reinforcing the principle that political parties are critical if democracy is to thrive, and not merely as a vehicle for winning elections. These examples underscore the importance of respecting party structures as an essential ingredient of political stability and democratic consolidation.
The recent wave of defections into the APC in Sokoto is therefore hardly surprising. Politicians naturally gravitate towards parties that are stabile, and the leadership focused. Because these attributes guarantee the party a realistic prospect of electoral success. While Governor Aliyu’s achievements have undoubtedly enhanced the popularity of his administration, if those achievements are not complemented by an organised political structure capable of translating the goodwill into electoral victory it would have counted for nothing. Roads, schools, hospitals, water projects, agricultural interventions and other development programmes provide the evidence that party mobilisers take back to their communities, making governance itself a powerful campaign tool.
Ultimately, Governor Ahmed Aliyu and Senator Aliyu Wamakko have demonstrated that elections are not won on election day. They are won through years of organisation, consultation, discipline, reconciliation and sustained grassroots engagement. Development may earn the confidence of the electorate, but only a disciplined and united political organisation can effectively convert that confidence into electoral victory. That appears to be the philosophy guiding the APC in Sokoto State. Judging by the cohesion of its leadership, the strength of its grassroots structures and the steady stream of political realignments in its favour, the party is approaching the 2027 elections from a position of considerable strength. Any opposition seeking to unseat it must first contend with a political machinery that has been patiently built over nearly two decades and remains one of the most organised in contemporary Nigerian politics.
Ultimately, Governor Aliyu and Senator Wamakko have shown that elections are not won on election days. They are won through years of organisation, consultation, discipline, reconciliation and grassroots engagement. They are won by building a strong party and by maintaining unity when others are consumed by internal conflict. Judging from the state of its organisation today, the APC in Sokoto is approaching the 2027 elections from a position of strength. The opposition knows that it can’t dismantle the machinery, that Governor Ahmed Aliyu and Senator Aliyu Wamakko have assembled,which is one of the most cohesive in contemporary Nigerian politics.