Barring any last-minute change, Kano State Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf is set to dump the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP) for the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
Multiple sources told Daily Trust yesterday that the governor is likely to defect with or without the blessing of his political mentor, Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso.
According to insiders, Yusuf has insisted on leaving the NNPP after wide consultations with stakeholders, including members of the state House of Assembly, local government chairmen, and some federal lawmakers from Kano.
In a viral video on Sunday, the governor’s Director of Protocol, Abdullahi Ibrahim Rogo, declared that they had resolved to follow Yusuf to the APC. Flanked by party leaders in his local government, Rogo disclosed that key figures within the Kwankwasiyya movement in Rogo LGA had agreed that both Kwankwaso and Yusuf should defect.
“We at Rogo Local Government, under the leadership of 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.
“This resolution is in the best interest of our people, our country, and even Kwankwaso himself. We believe his presidential ambition can be realised in APC if we join now.
“This is our stand, and all the stakeholders in this local government have agreed to this. We are also calling on all our supporters to shun abusive politics and never insult anyone. They are all our leaders and we don’t like insulting anyone. However, we will remain in Kwankwasiyya for life, and for now, we are in NNPP, but we are calling on these leaders to lead us into APC, because that is the solution for now,” he added.
He added that stakeholders in the area had agreed to shun abusive politics, stressing that while they remain loyal to Kwankwasiyya, they believe joining APC is the solution for now.
In another video, the Director-General, Media and Publicity at the Kano Government House, Sanusi Bature Dawakin Tofa, also backed the decision of his Dawakin Tofa LGA caucus to follow the governor to APC.
In a meeting with NNPP caucas, Dawakin Tofa LGA Chairman, Anas Danmaliki said Kwankwasiyya movement has split into two, the pro-masses and anti-masses, but that him and all his councillors are wherever governor Yusuf is.
Thereafter, the Governor’s spokesperson responded, “I, Sanusi Bature Dawakin Tofa l, as one of the caucas of the party in the LGA, am with whatever Danmaliki said 1,000 percent.“
Sources said Yusuf is expected to formally announce his defection in the first week of January.
Meanwhile, Kwankwaso was said to have summoned members of the state House of Assembly to a meeting on Friday, where he acknowledged that the governor was set to leave the NNPP.
He reportedly told the lawmakers that anyone who wished to follow Yusuf should do so.
Kwankwaso, however, maintained that he was not convinced by the reasons advanced for the defection, reminding them that the NNPP won the 2023 election “with nobody but God..
He was quoted as rhetorically asking: “Will the God that gave us power in 2023 not be around in 2027?”
A source told Daily Trust that when the lawmakers later sought an audience with the governor, Yusuf informed them that his decision to join APC was “irreversible.”
Daily Trust reports that Yusuf is the only governor elected on the platform of Kwankwaso’s NNPP in the 2023 general election.
(DAILY TRUST)
