The Kano State Governor, Abba Kabir Yusuf, is set to formally defect from the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) on Monday, DAILY NIGERIAN has learnt.
Governor Yusuf, who is currently the only NNPP governor in the country, is already in Abuja for final consultations and preparations ahead of his defection. Sources familiar with the plan told DAILY NIGERIAN that the governor will be received by Vice President Kashim Shettima and the APC National Chairman, Professor Nentawe Yilwatda, during the process.
In Kano, arrangements are already underway within the APC. The party’s leader in the state and former governor, Abdullahi Ganduje, was recalled from a trip to Dubai, while the APC state chairman, Abdullahi Abbas, was asked to cut short his lesser hajj to facilitate the issuance of an APC membership card to Governor Yusuf at his Diso Ward in Gwale Local Government Area later in the week.
The governor is also expected to hold a crucial meeting with Mr Ganduje within the week to chart a new course for the progress and consolidation of the APC in Kano State.
DAILY NIGERIAN gathered that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu was initially reluctant to accept Governor Yusuf’s defection without his political godfather, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, who commands a strong following in Kano and parts of northern Nigeria.
“The president initially insisted that he would not accept the governor’s defection without Kwankwaso. And after efforts to persuade Kwankwaso failed, Governor Hope Uzodinma convinced the president to accept the governor’s defection,” a source disclosed.
Meanwhile, acting on Governor Yusuf’s directive, local government caucuses across the state had earlier made last-ditch efforts to persuade him to lead them into the APC by openly aligning with his political direction and publicly calling on him to defect.
Governor Yusuf’s decision to part ways with his longtime political benefactor and former Kano governor, Rabiu Kwankwaso, has however triggered a backlash within the Kwankwasiyya movement. Several loyalists have criticised the governor’s move and reiterated their allegiance to Mr Kwankwaso.
The defection, if finalised as planned, is expected to significantly alter Kano’s political landscape and strengthen the APC’s position in the North-West ahead of future electoral contests.
