Yusuf secures lawmakers’ backing ahead of defection to APC

By Abubakar Yunusa

Kano State Governor, Abba Kabir Yusuf, has secured the backing of a majority of elected officials, party executives and support groups ahead of his planned defection from the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP)to the All Progressives Congress (APC).

The move, which follows weeks of intense consultations across the state, signals a major crack in the long-standing political alliance between the governor and his mentor, former Kano State governor and NNPP national leader, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso.

Kwankwaso, who has publicly opposed Yusuf’s planned exit, was said to have opened a “loyalty register” at his Miller Road residence in Kano to document party members and political groups willing to remain with the NNPP.

Despite the counter-effort, sources said Yusuf has drawn substantial support from within the influential Kwankwasiyya political movement, pointing to an internal realignment that weakens Kwankwaso’s grip on the structure he built over decades.

As of Monday, Senator Rufa’i Sani Hanga, representing Kano Central, alongside three House of Representatives members, Mukhtar Yarima, Abdulkarim Ado and Sani Wakili, reportedly affirmed their loyalty to Kwankwaso by signing the register.

However, the governor is said to enjoy the backing of 21 members of the House of Representatives, cutting across party lines. APC lawmaker, Ado Doguwa, has openly declared his party’s support for Yusuf’s planned transition.

Within the Kano State House of Assembly, the governor reportedly commands the loyalty of the majority of the 25 NNPP lawmakers, though a few legislators have remained aligned with Kwankwaso, while one lawmaker from Madobi Local Government Area is said to be undecided.

At the grassroots, all 44 local government chairmen, their deputies and ward executives across the state were said to have opted to follow Yusuf, alongside several Kwankwasiyya-aligned organisations and a PDP splinter group known as Option A.

Political analysts said Yusuf’s eventual defection could strip the NNPP of its strongest base nationwide and significantly weaken the party, and Kwankwaso’s influence, ahead of the 2027 general elections.