Vatsa joins SDP with over 200 backers, two weeks after quitting APC

Jonathan Vatsa, who until recently served as Niger State's commissioner for information, culture and tourism, has pitched his tent with the Social Democratic Party (SDP). He made the move on Wednesday at his ward in Gulu-Anguwa-Gulu Vatsa, Lapai Local Government Area, roughly two weeks after walking away from the All Progressives Congress (APC).

The SDP ward chairman, Adamu Mohammed Baba, handed him a membership card numbered N10120100001. More than 200 backers came with him, drawn from the APC and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) across five wards in the Azza area: Evuti Pada, Ebbo Gbacheko, Muye Egba, Gupa Abuge and his own Gulu-Anguwa-Gulu Vatsa ward.

Vatsa, a former APC publicity secretary in the state, had left the ruling party accusing it of betraying Nigerians' trust. His new party said it had landed a "big fish", with Baba arguing that Vatsa's grassroots experience would sharpen the SDP's structures before the 2027 general elections.

Why it matters beyond Niger

Defections rarely change a single state alone. Each one shifts how parties share power and patronage, and how voters in a state read the mood ahead of a general election. For residents of Niger State, the practical question is whether a stronger opposition will translate into better handling of public money and services.

Baba did not hold back. He said the APC had pushed Nigerians further into hardship and that voters should remove it in 2027. The party's ward youth leader, Mallam Said Mohammed, told Vatsa he would not regret the switch, describing the SDP as one of Nigeria's older parties with structures ready to be built up.

Vatsa said he was drawn to the SDP by its governorship candidate in the state, Mohammed Ndarani (SAN), whom he described as capable of credible leadership. He also called the APC-led state government the worst since democracy returned in 1999, alleging it had little to show for the money available to it.

"This is a government that has enormous resources from the Federation Account, including loans, yet you cannot point to a single project worth ₦5 billion that has been completed," he said.

He said he had raised the same complaints while still inside the APC. The state government has not responded to the allegations in these reports.

Vatsa urged residents to collect their Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) and use them in 2027, arguing that parties draw their strength from members rather than the other way round.

What happens next

The SDP in Niger State will now try to convert Vatsa's local following into ward-level strength, with the governorship election still more than a year away. How the APC responds, and whether more of its members follow him, will shape the contest.