By James Livinus Gaiya
When the President visited Kaduna on September 19, 2025, to attend Senator Abdullaziz Yari’s family wedding and pay respects to the widow of the late President Muhammadu Buhari, both the President’s entourage and Kaduna State Government’s contingent that gathered to receive him included a constellation of political heavyweights. But, once again, no notable figure from Southern Kaduna was present on both sides.
To put it in perspective, this was the President’s third or fourth visit to Kaduna since assuming office, and each time, the absence of highly influential stalwarts from Southern Kaduna has highlighted the glaring vacuum within the Southern Kaduna APC. This vacuum is not accidental—it is political. And only Senator Sunday Marshall Katung has the stature to fill it.
For those who understand the workings of power, politics, at its core, is about access and influence. Proximity to the President is not a photo opportunity; it is the space where individuals and communities negotiate their survival, shape their future, and secure development for their people. Southern Kaduna, therefore, cannot afford to remain absent from that table.
For the zone, Senator Katung represents not just a voice but a bridge—a credible channel to transform goodwill into tangible results. Already, Senator Katung’s cordial and mutually respectful relationship with Governor Uba Sani is a case study in what pragmatic politics can achieve. The reconstruction of the Kafanchan–Madauchi road, the establishment of the Federal University of Applied Sciences in Kachia, the Federal Medical Centre in Kafanchan, and other development efforts built on mutual respect and a shared vision for an inclusive Kaduna State are proof of the powerful synergy between the two leaders. If such results are possible with Senator Katung in the opposition, imagine the scale of opportunity if he were fully aligned with the ruling APC.
The time for hesitation is over. Remaining in the PDP, a party now marred by endless internal crises and diminishing relevance, is a road to irrelevance. In Southern Kaduna, defections are already reshaping the political landscape, with the PDP’s structures shrinking by the day. The recent call for a strategic alignment with the APC by the Southern Kaduna Renaissance Front, echoed in its recent communiqué issued at the end of its 2025 Young Persons Political Conference, is therefore more than political advice—it is a strategic imperative.
Senator Katung, alongside other opposition legislators, must join the ruling party not simply to “belong” but to guarantee greater federal and state presence in Southern Kaduna, to secure their return ticket, and to protect their enduring legacies both at home and in their respective chambers. Senator Katung, in particular, must avoid the missteps of others—like the member representing Jema’a/Sanga Federal Constituency, who recently gathered his supporters to renew his vow to the PDP in defiance of reality, even as the party’s base steadily erodes.
And while Hon. Dan Amos, for example, faces the grim reality of defending his re-election bid in just two local governments, Sen. Katung has eight, and about six out of this eight have nearly all the political structures/elected representatives already shifting allegiance to the APC, aligning themselves with President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda and Governor Uba Sani’s inclusive leadership model.
History rarely gives leaders unlimited chances. For Senator Katung, the moment is now. By stepping into the APC, he will not only elevate Southern Kaduna’s voice in the national dialogue but also cement his place as the statesman who bridged exclusion with inclusion, and opposition with opportunity. Southern Kaduna cannot afford to remain in the waiting room of Nigerian politics. And Senator Katung cannot afford to miss this train. After all, for those who have perforned incredibly well, the people will always follow them wherever they go, especialy if such new platforms have the potency to guarantee election victory.
