The announcement by Hon. Wilson Iliya Yangye that he was parting ways with the African Democratic Congress (ADC), hours after the release of the ADC campaign structure for Kaduna State, is a significant development that should be viewed beyond the prism of the winds of political defections that often characterise Nigeria’s electioneering periods. It represents something deeper: a genuine commitment to the ideals of unity and inclusion that have defined his political journey over the years.
His journey in politics spans decades of active participation as a pillar of support for the aspirations of others, a flag bearer of the APC for the 2019 Jema’a State Constituency elections, Senior Special Assistant to Governor Nasir El-Rufai, and, more recently, Senior Legislative Aide to the current Senator representing the Kaduna South Senatorial District in the Red Chamber.
His most defining moment before yesterday’s announcement was his decision to voluntarily sacrifice the comfort of political office in 2022 to join forces with other well-meaning citizens in the PDP in a bid to stage an upset in the state’s political landscape. He did so because of his conviction that it aligned with the best interests of his people and, indeed, the people of Kaduna State at the time. While in the PDP, he made his mark and continued to be a pillar of support for the party, as well as a leading example for many young people who looked up to him in their own political journeys.
He later joined the ADC in 2025 in its formative years and helped in galvanising support for it long before some of the desperate power seekers who have hijacked its soul today joined and started to use it as an instrument of exclusion against certain people or sections of the state.
Rt. Hon. Isa Mohammed Ashiru’s emergence as the ADC’s governorship candidate, and particularly the way he and his people surreptitiously hijacked the process, in what many of their party faithful described as one of the most daring, arrogant, and conscienceless assaults on internal democracy in any party, seems to have changed Ashiru’s and the ADC’s appeal in the eyes of many critical stakeholders. This was compounded by the composition of his campaign structure, which many have described as insensitive and despicable. How he has been able to transform so quickly into such a despicable figure is enough to compel anyone with even a pinch of conscience and a genuine dlove for justice and fairness to leave the ADC.
I, therefore, salute Hon. Iliya for his courageous and heroic decision and urge him to continue to put the interests of his people first in his future political pursuits. The people of Southern Kaduna owe him a debt of gratitude for exposing what other selfish politicians from our zone not only hide but are shamelessly willing to defend for a temporary place at the dining table.
We want to send a very clear message to Ashiru and his collaborators in Southern Kaduna that their agenda to enthrone a system that obviously excludes our people shall fail. Kaduna State is already enjoying the benefits of more secure, united, inclusive, peaceful, and prosperous governance in the hands of the APC, and no coalition, under whatever guise, can turn back the hands of the clock.
I am optimistic that Wilson Iliya will not take his political capital to the coolers but will consider returning to the APC, where he once orchestrated one of the greatest political movements in Jema’a LGA in 2019, and with whose stakeholders he has maintained a very mutually respectful relationship since leaving the party in 2022.
I earnestly look forward to another announcement, and I hope the APC leaders, particularly Comrade Jerry Adams and the distinguished Senator, Barr. Katung, will take action to make this happen.
Ishaku Musa Yohanna writes from Asso Ward of Jema’a LGA.
