A political earthquake has rocked Kano State, the political heart of northern Nigeria, as Governor Abba Kabiru Yusuf is poised to defect from the opposition New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
This high-stakes realignment threatens to fracture the influential Kwankwasiyya political movement and has been condemned by the NNPP as a “gross betrayal” of the party and the electorate .The Governor’s decision, reportedly set to be formalized in early January, would deliver a landmark victory to the APC in a key battleground state and leave the NNPP without a single governorship seat nationally .
Governor Yusuf’s impending exit is described as an “irreversible” decision, taken after extensive consultations with state lawmakers, local government chairmen, and federal legislators from Kano . High-ranking aides, including his Director of Protocol, Abdullahi Ibrahim Rogo, and his Director-General of Media, Sanusi Bature Dawakin Tofa, have publicly declared their readiness to follow him to the APC, with Mr. Rogo stating their hope that NNPP national leader Rabiu Kwankwaso would join the move.
The party leadership has responded with fury and public appeals. In multiple press conferences and radio broadcasts, Kano NNPP Chairman Hashim Dungurawa has categorically rejected the defection, stating that neither the party’s national leadership nor its founder, Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso, approves of the governor’s plans .”It is a betrayal of the people of Kano who elected this party,” Mr. Dungurawa stated, adding that it was improper to defeat a party in an election only to join it . He has warned party members not to sign any documents in support of the defection and appealed directly to Governor Yusuf to “remain in this party to help those who are suffering”.
At the heart of the crisis is a deepening rift between Governor Yusuf and his political godfather, Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso, the architect of the Kwankwasiyya movement.
According to multiple sources, their relationship has been strained by protracted disagreements over governance, political appointments, and anti-corruption probes initiated by the governor’s office that implicated Kwankwaso’s allies .While some defecting aides hope for a united move to the APC, believing it is the only platform on which Kwankwaso can realize his presidential ambitions , the senator has reportedly expressed his opposition.
In a meeting with state lawmakers, he was said to have told those wishing to follow the governor they were free to do so, but he remains unconvinced, rhetorically asking, “Will the God that gave us power in 2023 not be around in 2027?” .The division is so severe that the chairman of Dawakin Tofa LGA, a Kwankwasiyya stronghold, declared the movement has now “split into two and pledged allegiance to Governor Yusuf.
The move is widely seen as an effort by Governor Yusuf to secure the APC’s backing for a second term in the 2027 elections . By joining the ruling party at the national level, he seeks to consolidate his local power base.Governor Abba Yusuf’s defection is more than a party switch, it is a political upheaval with national implications.
It signals a likely end to the NNPP’s reign in Kano and a devastating blow to the party’s national stature. For the APC, it represents an unprecedented consolidation of power in the north.
As the first week of January approaches, all eyes are on Kano for the formal announcement. The coming days will determine whether this defection leads to a smooth political transition or triggers deeper instability within one of Nigeria’s most politically volatile states.
