Kano State Governor, Abba Yusuf, is set to formally defect from the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) on Monday, in a move that could significantly reshape the state’s political landscape.
Reports indicate that Governor Yusuf, currently the only NNPP governor in the country, is already in Abuja to conclude arrangements ahead of his defection. Sources familiar with the development disclosed that Vice President Kashim Shettima and the National Chairman of the APC, Nentawe Yilwatda, are expected to receive the governor during the formal process.
As part of the preparations, the APC leader in Kano State and immediate past National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and Chairperson of the Board of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, was reportedly recalled from an overseas trip, while the state APC Chairman, Abdullahi Abbas, was asked to cut short his lesser hajj to facilitate the issuance of an APC membership card to the governor at his Diso Ward in Gwale Local Government Area.
The governor is also expected to hold a strategic meeting with Dr. Ganduje within the week to chart a new course for the party’s growth and consolidation in Kano State.
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Sources further revealed that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu was initially reluctant to accept Governor Yusuf into the APC without his political godfather and leader of the Kwankwasiyya movement, Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, who commands a strong following in Kano and parts of the North.
“The president initially insisted that he would not accept the governor’s defection without Kwankwaso. However, after efforts to persuade Kwankwaso failed, Governor Hope Uzodinma intervened and convinced the president to accept Yusuf’s defection,” a source disclosed.
Ahead of the planned defection, local government caucuses across the state reportedly made last-minute efforts to encourage the governor to move to the APC, openly aligning with him and urging him to lead them into the ruling party.
Governor Yusuf’s apparent political rift with his longtime mentor, Senator Kwankwaso, has sparked reactions within the Kwankwasiyya camp, with several loyalists expressing discontent and reaffirming their allegiance to the former Kano State governor.
The development, if completed, would mark a major realignment in Kano politics and further strengthen the APC’s grip in the North.