Politics
Kwankwaso, Yusuf rift deepens – The Nation Newspaper
•Pro-Kwankwaso commissioners may be dropped
•Ganduje, others lead consultations to receive gov
There are indications that Kano State Governor Abba Yusuf may drop his commissioners who are loyalists of his estranged godfather Dr. Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso.
The governor is tidying up arrangements for his formal defection from the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC) tomorrow.
Kwankwaso is opposed to the move and has asked the governor to relinquish his position if he must defect.
Supporters of the APC are already in a jubilant mood ahead of Yusuf’s defection.
The immediate past governor of Kano State, Dr Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, returned to Abuja yesterday from Dubai to be part of the reception for his successor.
Ganduje’s Chief of Staff, Malam Muhammad Garba, said yesterday that his boss would commence a “series of consultations and stakeholders’ meetings focusing on recent political developments in Kano state.”
The disagreement between Yusuf and Kwankwaso has polarised the NNPP and the Kwankwasiyya Movement –the umbrella body of all NNPP members in the country.
Yusuf is scheduled to meet with Ganduje, who is the immediate past national chairman of the APC, the State Chairman of the party, Abdullahi Abbas and other APC stakeholders in Kano to review the defection plan.
According to the schedule of activities, the governor will proceed to obtain his APC membership card from his ward after the official defection.
The defection was originally scheduled for January 5 in Abuja but was shifted to tomorrow to allow for further consultation by the governor with NNPP National Assembly lawmakers from Kano and key stakeholders who were yet to fully commit to the move.
The defection is part of a larger political realignment that will enable Governor Yusuf to potentially take on a significant leadership role in APC, seal his governorship ticket and lead the state chapter of the party ahead of the 2027 elections.
The move is also seen as a strategic decision expected to strengthen the APC in Kano State.
Kwankwaso is believed to be on his way to joining the African Democratic Congress (ADC).
He has threatened Yusuf that no one betrays the Kwankwasiyya Movement and goes free.
Kwankwaso also warned other members who have defected or are planning to defect to compensate the Movement for the support and labour invested in them.
While addressing his remaining loyalists, he insisted that political defections do not happen without incentives. “For someone to abandon his house and go elsewhere, it does not just happen without reason. These people, no doubt, have collected ‘goods,” he said. He cautioned members against being swayed by what he referred to as “short-term gains,” noting that many defectors later regretted their actions.
But the governor has the backing of the majority of the NNPP members of the state House of Assembly on his imminent switching of camps, citing unresolved leadership crises and ongoing court cases that could jeopardise the governor’s reelection.
Justifying the defection moves, House Majority Leader Lawan Hussaini stated that remaining in the NNPP poses significant risks for the governor and other elected officials due to “factional disputes and multiple litigations.”
Hussaini said the party’s internal conflicts could lead to a repeat of the Zamfara State scenario, where the Supreme Court ruled that the APC had no valid candidates, resulting in the party losing the governorship and legislative seats.
“The NNPP is currently plagued by factional leadership disputes and multiple litigations, creating uncertainty over the validity of its structure and nominations ahead of future elections.
“There is an existing court judgment that recognises a particular faction of the NNPP. Therefore, we cannot continue to remain in the party and risk a repeat of the legal disaster that happened in Zamfara State,” Hussaini said.
He emphasised that betrayal carries lasting consequences, leaving a stain that follows individuals and their families. “The word ‘betrayer’ follows a person; him, his family and even his lineage,” he reiterated.
A former governor of Kano state, Mallam Ibrahim Shekarau, also sees nothing wrong in the governor’s dumping of the NNPP.
He says the move cannot be termed betrayal but a legitimate exercise of his political rights.
Shekarau’s remarks come in response to criticism from Kwankwaso, who had labelled Yusuf a “betrayer” over his intention to defect.
His intervention has opened another perspective to the brewing controversy surrounding Yusuf’s defection, with implications for the NNPP and the Kwankwasiyya Movement.
“Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf should not be accused of betrayal over his decisions, because political realignments are personal decisions guided by circumstances and consultations.
“I have listened to some of my brother Kwankwaso’s remarks. To me, Kwankwaso has either forgotten what happened in the past, or he thinks people have forgotten.
“When he was in PDP, he also left with the governorship seat to APC. Why didn’t he drop it for PDP? The way he took PDP’s seat to APC is likely the same way Abba will take the NNPP seat to APC,” he said.
Shekarau added that if such action is now being described as offensive, then the precedent was already established by Kwankwaso.
“Governor Abba Yusuf is only following your footsteps,” Shekarau said, questioning why Kwankwaso would accuse Yusuf of betrayal when he had set a similar precedent.
Shekarau, who was a two-term governor of Kano State between 2003 to 2011, also revisited the formation of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), revealing that disagreements over power-sharing arrangements led to his exit from the party.
He claimed that despite being promised a senatorial ticket, he was marginalised in the allocation of positions, prompting him to leave the party.
The former governor emphasised that political decisions, including defections, should not be framed as betrayal, especially when leaders consult their followers and act in their collective interest.
Shekarau, a former Education Minister and ex-senator representing Kano Central (2019–2023), insisted that Yusuf has the right to join any party of his choice, and that Kwankwaso’s criticism ignores the political precedent he himself had set.
I’ll laugh last, says Kwankwaso
Kwankwaso has boasted that he will have the last laugh in the faceoff between him and Yusuf.
He rejected suggestions in some political circles that he is a fading politician.
“As leaders and representatives of the people, when you go back home, ensure you meet with our supporters and let them know what is before us,” he recently told his supporters.
His words: “I have heard some people mocking me, calling me a child in politics. I want to assure them that they will see the work of the child soon when the time comes.
“We have so far received about 21 organisations from across the state, and there are others that are going to join us soon. Therefore, you go back home and receive them.”
I believe in action, not talk, says Governor Yusuf
Reacting to Kwankwaso’s warnings and threats, the governor said: “What started small has been magnified as said by a Hausa Singer, Karamar Magana Tazama Babba. As everyone knows, I don’t believe in talking too much.
“I’m always an action man; the actions that will help my people, as seen by everyone, that is what I believe in, not too much talk,” the governor said in a video recording while addressing a camp loyal to him.
Long before Yusuf made his move to cross over to the APC, Kwankwaso had met with APC leaders to discuss a deal ahead of 2027, but the talks turned out to be fruitless.
Kwankwaso had said his doors were open for alliance.
He said recently that he would only team up with a party that is willing to offer him either its presidential ticket or vice presidential.
Political sources in Kano said having failed in working out a deal with the APC, Kwankwaso sought to stop Yusuf from joining the party, but did not have his way.
Two camps loyal to the two soon emerged. The governor’s supporters started mobilising supporters and urging the governor to defect without Kwankwaso and accusing the Kwankwasiyya of self-aggrandisement and labelling him “anti-masses.”
Sequel to the deepening crisis over Yusuf’s defection to APC, the former NNPP Chairman Hashimu Dungurawa, an ally of Kwankwaso, was sacked at the behest of the governor, who swiftly appointed Abdullahi Zubairu Abiya as a replacement. Abiya’s appointment was even backed by the court, which affirmed the dismissal of the former chairman.
However, the National Working Committee (NWC) of the party, in a response, described Dungurawa’s removal as a nullity. It went on to dissolve the entire Kano party executives at the ward, local government and state levels indefinitely, saying the action was in line with the NNPP constitution.
The Yusuf camp approached the Kano High Court, where Justice Nasiru Saminu granted an order restoring the party’s executives at the state, local government and ward levels, which were earlier dissolved by the party’s NWC.
But the party’s NWC is insisting that even if such an order exists, it would be legally defective.
The party’s National Publicity Secretary, Ladipo Johnson, said it was improper for a court to issue an interim injunction against a decision that had already been completed by a political party’s national leadership.
“The court lacks jurisdiction to reverse an internal decision of the party,” he said, arguing that the Supreme Court has consistently held that the internal affairs of political parties are non-justiciable,” he said.
Ladipo said: “The dissolution of Kano State executives at all levels therefore stands.”
Who has upper hand, more backing?
Governor Yusuf is now becoming assertive and independent in decision-making, with this crisis. And if he joins the APC without Kwankwaso, the latter would no longer pull strings in appointments and decision-making like before.
A Kano Government House source said the governor had tolerated so much from Kwankwaso because he did not want to be seen as an ingrate.
At the moment, all the local government chairmen and House of Assembly members have endorsed the governor’s defection plan.
Cabinet reshuffle imminent
It was gathered yesterday that once the governor officially defected to the APC, some commissioners and other appointees loyal to Kwankwaso will be shown the exit door.
Among those to be affected are the Commissioners for Science and Technology, Yusuf Kofarmata; Internal Security and Special Services Air Vice Marshal Ibrahim Umaru (retd.); and that of Youth and Sport, Mustapha Kwankwaso, son of the NNPP leader.
Sources said some commissioners are already clearing their desks in anticipation of the cabinet reshuffle.
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