Radda and Masari: Two Powers, One Party, One Stronghold at Stake

By Adamu Aminu.

A governor with deep roots in Katsina and a presidential adviser with the President’s ear are reported to be at odds over control of the APC in the state. With 2027 approaching, silence will not settle it.

Katsina looks orderly from the outside. Banners line the roundabouts. Loyalists fill Government House. Phones ring late between Katsina and Abuja.

Beneath that order, a quiet contest for the party is under way. It deserves plain attention.

On one side is Governor Dikko Umaru Radda.

He is a product of Katsina politics. He rose from local government, served as chief of staff to a former governor, and later headed SMEDAN as Director-General, according to accounts by his supporters. The weight of incumbency is now with him.

All 34 members of the Katsina State House of Assembly have endorsed him for a second term. He was affirmed as the party’s candidate by voice vote at the People’s Square. His camp has also launched “Dikko Gida-Gida 2027,” a house-to-house mobilisation structure.

Few politicians in the state can match a machine that reaches from the State House to the compound gate.

On the other side is Ibrahim Kabir Masari.

The Katsina-born politician once served as APC National Welfare Secretary. President Bola Tinubu appointed him Senior Special Assistant on Political Affairs in 2023 and elevated him to Special Adviser in March 2025.

His supporters describe him as a quiet strategist. A patient weaver of alliances. One commentator wrote that his strength lies in understanding Nigeria’s complex political architecture. That is their assessment, offered here as such. Its value is not in the praise, but in what it signals: influence that works beneath the surface, not above it.

Where did the strain start?

Reports trace it to April. President Tinubu removed Housing Minister Ahmed Dangiwa and nominated Muttaqha Darma as replacement. Blueprint newspaper reported that Masari was allegedly blamed within some circles for favouring Darma. The report added that Masari, Darma and about 25 federal appointees have since stayed away from state government events. That claim remains unverified.

In early October, at least five appointees of the governor resigned. A source told reporters that some had moved closer to Masari’s camp. Other reports gave different reasons for the departures, including plans to contest elective office. Those competing reasons should be kept in view.

It must be stated clearly: neither camp has admitted to a rift.

The governor’s media director has said he is unaware of any dispute. Much of what circulates rests on anonymous sources and interested groups. It should be read with that caution.

But denial does not settle a political question.

Silence leaves room for rumour. Rumour does its own damage. It distracts government. It weakens a party.

Katsina is a major APC stronghold. That strength should not be taken for granted.

A governor with deep roots and an adviser with access in Abuja each hold a real share of the party’s future. Both owe it to the voters to resolve differences within the party’s own structures.

The President, as leader of the party, is well placed to broker an understanding.

A party that cannot manage its quarrels in private will be asked to explain them in public at the ballot.

The people of Katsina deserve better than whispers.

Adamu Aminu writes from Kano.