Kano Goes Back To APC
Governor Abba Yusuf's defection to the APC marked the end of months of speculation, which had seen his relationship with Kwankwaso derail.
Kano State is back in the All Progressives Congress (APC) fold! This followed the defection of Governor Abba Yusuf, who dumped the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), the platform he was elected on in the 2023 election, ending months of speculations about the political fate of the leader of one of the most pivotal states in Nigeria’s political landscape.
Governor Abba, the political godson of Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso, who flew the party’s flag in that exercise, joined the ruling APC alongside 22 members of the Kano State Assembly and nine House of Representatives lawmakers.
Addressing a gathering of supporters, allies, government officials, and party chieftains, the governor linked his decision to the need for the development of the North-West state.
“After wide consultation, 22 out of 24 members of the Kano State House of Assembly and nine out of 14 members of the House of Representatives have concluded that we should join the APC,” Yusuf said at the Coronation Hall of the Government House in Kano.
He said, “We are choosing partnership rather than polarisation. Political parties are vehicles; the destination is to bring positive change to the people of Kano,” asking residents of the state to assess the “decision by the work we do for the people of Kano.”
Before he defected to the APC, the 63-year-old had resigned his membership of the NNPP, citing “persistent internal challenges arising from leadership disagreements and ongoing legal processes, many of which are presently before the courts for judicial determination.”
In a letter addressed to the Chairman of the NNPP in Diso-Chiranchi Ward, Gwale Local Government Area of Kano, the governor expressed a “deep sense of gratitude” to the party.
But he said “the growing disenfranchisement among party members has created deep divisions within the party structure, resulting in cracks that appear increasingly irreconcilable and have generated uncertainty at both state and national levels”.
APC Welcomes Move, NNPP Alleges Betrayal
For the APC, Yusuf’s defection to its fold was a move in the right direction. The party’s Chairman in Kano, Abdullahi Abbas, described it as bold and historic.
“This is a bold decision. APC members in Kano will remain loyal to Governor Abba Yusuf as he joins the party,” Abbas said during an event to welcome the Kano governor to APC.
At the ceremony, the Deputy Senate President, Barau Jibrin, who is from Kano State, asked his support to rally behind Governor Yusuf.
“I urge all my supporters to support Governor Abba Yusuf so that we can work together for the progress of Kano State,” Senator Barau said.
But for the NNPP, the defection of its only governor is a betrayal of trust. Its National spokesman, Ladipo Johnson, faulted Yusuf’s claims of internal crisis in the party.
“We deeply regret that Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf, who benefited from years of loyalty to the Kwankwasiyya Movement, has chosen this path, which amounts to a betrayal of the trust reposed in him by the people of Kano State,” Johnson wrote in a statement.
“History has shown that political disloyalty often attracts the verdict of the people,” the party said.
Fallout With Kwankwaso, What Lies Ahead
Yusuf’s defection to the APC marked the end of months of speculation, which had seen his relationship with Kwankwaso derail.
Kwankwaso — a former governor of Kano and the party’s national leader — won a majority of local government areas in the state against his rivals.
His grassroots strength, typified in the Kwankwassiya Movement, helped the NNPP take over Kano, which has been an APC stronghold since 2013.
Reports of Governor Yusuf leaving the NNPP in late 2025 further fractured their fragile relationship and deepened internal squabbles within the party.
However, the NNPP leadership, both at the state and national levels, downplayed the defection reports, saying the party did not approve of the move.
Kwankwaso cautioned NNPP members against defection and said that “betrayal never pays”.
“It is disheartening to witness Governor Yusuf divert the NNPP’s mandate and that of the people of Kano toward the Gandujiyya APC (his rival, former Governor Abdullahi Ganduje) without providing a convincing justification,” the ex-governor said.
Governor Yusuf’s defection has sparked a fresh wave of resignation and political realignments, which will reshape the political landscape in Kano, the North-West, and indeed the country at large.
