Kano State Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf’s plan to defect from the New Nigeria Peoples Party to the All Progressives Congress has widened his rift with NNPP leader Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso and split the party’s structures in Kano. As Yusuf marked his 63rd birthday in Abuja with top officials and allies, Kwankwaso stayed back in Kano, opening a loyalty register for office holders and holding meetings with Kwankwasiyya loyalists to confirm who still stands with him.
The governor is said to enjoy the backing of all 40 members of the Kano State House of Assembly and the 44 local government chairmen, positioning him strongly for a move to the APC. However, NNPP federal lawmakers from Kano are divided, with some already crossing to the APC while others, such as Umar Mukhtari Zakari of Tarauni, openly oppose the defection plan.
Several NNPP House of Representatives members from Kano, including Aliyu Sani Madaki, Abdulmumin Jibrin, Yusuf Rabiu, Sani Abdullahi, Kabiru Usman and Sagir Ibrahim Koki, have defected to the APC in recent months, citing internal party crises. The formal ceremony to receive Yusuf into the APC, initially planned for early January and expected to feature Vice President Kashim Shettima and APC national chairman Nentawe Yilwatda, has been shifted to January 12 to allow more consultations with lawmakers and stakeholders.
Aides say Yusuf has not yet registered at his ward or collected an APC membership card, but the move is part of a broader realignment that could see him take a major leadership role in Kano APC and secure the party’s governorship ticket ahead of 2027. For the NNPP, losing its only sitting governor would be a huge setback, weakening the Kwankwasiyya Movement and further limiting the party’s influence as a national force.
Kwankwaso has reportedly rejected the defection plan and is rumoured to be considering a move to the African Democratic Congress in protest. He has repeatedly warned that those who “betray” Kwankwasiyya do not go unpunished politically, a stance that has already contributed to the removal of pro Kwankwaso state chairman Hashimu Dungurawa and his replacement with Abdullahi Zubairu Abiya, a change the NNPP national secretariat has declared a nullity while dissolving state party structures.
Within the APC, Yusuf’s expected entry is seen as a major gain that will boost the party’s dominance in Kano and strengthen its position for the 2027 general elections, but it could also trigger internal rivalry. His emergence may clash with the ambitions of Deputy Senate President Barau Jibrin and other established Kano APC power blocs aligned with former governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, making future negotiations and alliances in the state more complex.
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