2027: Ex-Niger commissioner, Jonathan Vatsa dumps APC

2027: Ex-Niger commissioner, Jonathan Vatsa dumps APC

Former Niger State Commissioner for Information, Culture and Tourism, Jonathan Vatsa, has resigned his membership of the All Progressives Congress, APC, after years of serving in key positions within the party and successive administrations in the state.

Vatsa, a former APC Publicity Secretary in Niger State, announced his resignation in a letter dated October 19, 2026, addressed to the chairman of the party in Gulu Anguwa-Gulu Vatsa Ward, Lapai Local Government Area.

In the letter, a copy of which was made available to journalists in Minna on Sunday, the former commissioner said his decision to leave the party was personal.

“I write to inform you of my decision to resign my membership of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Niger State, with effect from Monday, October 19, 2026,” he wrote.

He also thanked the party for giving him the opportunity to serve in various capacities during his 13 years of membership.

His resignation comes amid political disagreements over the Muslim-Muslim ticket arrangement of the APC in Niger State ahead of the 2027 general elections.

Vatsa has consistently criticised same-faith tickets at both the presidential and governorship levels, warning that the arrangement could undermine the APC’s electoral chances.

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He has also advocated a balance in the distribution of political appointments and elective offices, maintaining that religious considerations should not exclude sections of the state from political representation. 

The former commissioner previously served as the pioneer publicity secretary of the APC in Niger State following the merger of political parties that produced the APC in 2013. He had earlier belonged to the Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN.

He was appointed Commissioner for Information, Culture and Tourism in 2015 under the administration of former Governor Abubakar Sani Bello.

Following a cabinet reshuffle in 2017, he was dropped as commissioner and subsequently appointed coordinator of public communication.

Under Governor Mohammed Umaru Bago, Vatsa served as Special Adviser on Public-Private Partnership, PPP, in 2023 before moving to the media and communication portfolio. He was later dropped from the administration in December.

His departure from the APC marks a new development in the political career of a party stalwart who has remained vocal on issues of political representation and the party’s electoral strategy ahead of the 2027 elections.

However, Vatsa did not state any specific reason for his resignation in the letter, describing his decision as personal.

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