Rufai Hanga, NDC’s Only Northern Senator, Quits Party
Senator Rufai Sani Hanga, representing Kano Central Senatorial District, has resigned his membership of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), ending weeks of speculation over his political future and leaving the party without a single senator from northern Nigeria.
Hanga, who serves as Deputy Minority Whip of the Senate, announced his resignation in a letter dated August 3, addressed to the party chairman of Najeria ward in Nasarawa Local Government Area of Kano State. In the letter, the lawmaker stated that his resignation takes immediate effect, explaining that the decision followed careful reflection and personal deliberation. He said he was withdrawing his membership to pursue other personal commitments and career paths, adding that his political engagements had adversely affected his personal activities. Hanga thanked the ward executive committee and party members for their support during his time in the NDC, and requested that his name be formally removed from the party’s register at the ward level. He did not disclose which political party, if any, he intends to join next. TheCable
The resignation follows weeks of speculation that Hanga was considering an exit from the NDC amid what political observers described as growing dissatisfaction with developments within the party, including a perceived falling out with the leader of the Kwankwasiyya movement, Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso. According to reports, Hanga’s frustrations stemmed from losing out on the Kano Central senatorial ticket, being passed over for a deputy governorship slot, and not being considered for any significant party position, an accumulation of setbacks understood to be the primary driver behind his decision.
The move comes just days after President Bola Tinubu received Hanga and former Senator Kabiru Gaya, another prominent Kano politician, at the Presidential Villa in Abuja on July 27, alongside Deputy Senate President Jibrin Barau, fuelling widespread speculation that both men are positioning themselves for a formal defection to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC). Notably, Hanga had publicly denied any such plans just days earlier, telling a local radio programme in Kano that he remained a member of the NDC and had made no arrangements to decamp, even as he openly conceded that his party lacked the strength to defeat the APC in the presidential race.
Hanga’s political journey has been marked by frequent shifts in recent months. He was elected to the Senate in 2023 under the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) before defecting to the NDC in May 2026, citing internal instability within the NNPP at the time. His latest departure from the NDC is expected to trigger further cross-party realignments among key Kano politicians as the 2027 general elections approach, with analysts describing his exit as part of a broader strategic repositioning of political forces in the state ahead of the polls.
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