Barring any last-minute change, Kano State Governor, Abba Kabir Yusuf, is set to defect from the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP) to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), multiple sources have confirmed.
Sources told newsmen on Sunday that the governor has concluded plans to leave the NNPP, with or without the approval of his political mentor and party leader, Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso.
According to insiders, Yusuf reached the decision after extensive consultations with key stakeholders across the state, including members of the Kano State House of Assembly, local government chairmen and some federal lawmakers.
Signs of the looming defection emerged on Sunday following a viral video in which the governor’s Director of Protocol, Abdullahi Ibrahim Rogo, publicly declared support for Yusuf’s move to the APC.
Speaking alongside party leaders in Rogo Local Government Area, Rogo said influential figures within the Kwankwasiyya movement in the area had agreed that both Kwankwaso and Governor Yusuf should defect.
“We at Rogo Local Government, under the leadership of the Speaker, Jibrin Ismail Falgore, myself, the council chairman, caucus leaders, elders, women and youth leaders, have resolved that Kwankwaso is our leader, and that he and Governor Yusuf should take us to APC,” Rogo said.
He added that the decision was taken in the interest of the people and the country, noting that Kwankwaso’s presidential ambition could be better realised within the APC.
Similarly, the Director-General, Media and Publicity at the Kano Government House, Sanusi Bature Dawakin Tofa, also endorsed the decision of his Dawakin Tofa Local Government caucus to follow the governor to the APC.
At a caucus meeting, the Dawakin Tofa LGA Chairman, Anas Danmaliki, said the Kwankwasiyya movement had split into pro-masses and anti-masses factions, stressing that he and all councillors in the area would align with Governor Yusuf’s political direction.
“I am with whatever Danmaliki said, 1,000 percent,” Dawakin Tofa declared.
Sources further revealed that Yusuf is expected to formally announce his defection in the first week of January.
Meanwhile, Kwankwaso was reported to have summoned members of the Kano State House of Assembly to a meeting on Friday, where he acknowledged the governor’s intention to leave the NNPP. He reportedly told lawmakers that anyone willing to follow Yusuf was free to do so.
However, Kwankwaso expressed reservations over the reasons given for the defection, reminding the lawmakers that the NNPP won the 2023 election “with nobody but God.”
“Will the God that gave us power in 2023 not be around in 2027?” he was quoted as asking.
A source said that when the lawmakers later met with Governor Yusuf, he told them his decision to join the APC was “irreversible.”
Governor Yusuf remains the only sitting governor elected on the platform of the NNPP in the 2023 general election.
