Audu Maikori, widely regarded as one of Africa’s leading creative entrepreneurs, activists, and entertainment lawyers, has formally joined the All Progressives Congress (APC), underscoring the growing appeal of Governor Uba Sani’s inclusive governance approach.

Maikori formally joined the All Progressives Congress at a mega rally in Kafanchan on Saturday. His defection delivers a major political breakthrough in Southern Kaduna, a region that has historically remained resistant to the APC in northern Nigeria.

President Bola Tinubu, represented by Chief of Staff Femi Gbajabiamila, received Maikori and over 10 opposition politicians at the Zone 3 rally in Jema’a Local Government Area.

The president’s presence through his chief of staff underscores the strategic importance of the defections, which represent the first major political realignment in Southern Kaduna in decades under Governor Uba Sani’s administration.

Party leaders in Kaduna described Maikori’s addition as the most significant win yet for APC in the zone. His defection comes as international attention focuses on religious freedom in Nigeria, with the United States recently proposing sanctions over persecution of Christians.

The 50-year-old Southern Kaduna native from Kwoi brings a national track record in youth empowerment. As a member of President Goodluck Jonathan’s SURE-P committee from 2012 to 2015, he scaled the Graduate Internship Scheme from 1,800 to 22,000 participants and coordinated programs that reached 119,000 youth across all 36 states.

Maikori gained prominence for his advocacy on Southern Kaduna security issues. In 2017, former Governor Nasir El-Rufai arrested him twice over social media posts about violence in the region. A Federal High Court later ruled the arrests unlawful and awarded him N10.5 million in damages in a landmark case concerning freedom of speech.

His father, Adamu Audu Maikori, was Southern Kaduna’s first indigenous lawyer and contested governorship in 1990. His mother is a princess of the ancient Ham Royal family.

Chief of Staff Gbajabiamila commended Governor Sani’s leadership and urged him to sustain his efforts to unite and strengthen the party.

Speaker of the House of Representatives Abbas Tajudeen called the development historic. “For decades, they claimed ownership of your loyalty, your dreams, and your destiny. But today, that claim has ended, and the people have reclaimed their power,” he said.

Governor Sani described the defections as a new dawn for Southern Kaduna politics. “While elections may divide, governance must unite,” he said, stressing that his administration focuses on development and service delivery regardless of political, ethnic, or religious affiliations.

Senator Sunday Katung (Kaduna South) and Representative Daniel Amos (Jema’a/Sanga Federal Constituency) said they were inspired by the developmental strides under President Tinubu’s administration in Southern Kaduna. They pledged to strengthen the APC in the zone.

With these defections, Southern Kaduna has transformed from PDP’s strongest northern stronghold to an APC-majority zone in under two years of Governor Sani’s administration.