₦airaland Forum

Barring a last-minute change, the governor of Kano State, Abba Yusuf, will defect from the New Nigeria Peoples Party, NNPP, to the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, in the first week of January 2026.

Mr Yusuf’s defection will bring an abrupt end to about four decades of association with his political benefactor and godfather, Rabiu Kwankwaso.

Being the lone governor of the NNPP, Mr Yusuf’s defection will ultimately erase the party from the political map of parties that control states in Nigeria.

With APC’s scheduled congresses in February, the governor has perfected his plan of participating in the congress in order to take full control of the party in the state. And to add political weight to his camp, insiders told this newspaper that the governor had been scheming behind the scenes to get the support of the members of the National Assembly, State House of Assembly and local government chairmen.

“The only member of the House of Reps that I am certain will remain with Kwankwaso is his son-in-law, the member representing Tarauni Federal Constituency. Members representing Nassarawa, Ungogo and Kumbotso are on the fence, weighing the situation,” said a source familiar with the development.

DAILY NIGERIAN gathered that at least 25 [two now deceased] out 27 NNPP members of the House of Assembly, including the Speaker Yusuf Falgore, have endorsed the governor’s planned defection. But sources further said the governor was also able to get an appreciable number of local government chairmen on his defection train.

“A number of the local government chairmen are loyal to Kwankwaso at the moment, but I can tell you almost all of them with join the governor at the end of the day,” said the sources.

As the governor’s defection plans gain momentum, Mr Kwankwaso summoned members of the state House of Assembly to a meeting at his Miller Road residence on Friday.

DAILY NIGERIAN gathered that during the meeting Mr Kwankwaso told them that it was apparent the governor was dumping the NNPP to join APC, and in consequence of this, any member who chooses to go with the governor should do so.

Mr Kwankwaso lamented that he was not given a convincing reason why they should all defect to APC, noting that they won election when they had nobody but God.

“Will the God that gave us power in 2023 not be around in 2027?” Mr Kwankwaso was quoted asking the legislators rhetorically.

DAILY NIGERIAN gathered that at the end of the meeting, the lawmakers however agreed to speak with the governor to give another chance for dialogue so that whatever political decision the governor will take, it should be taken together with Mr Kwankwaso.

A source however told this newspaper that when the members sought to see the governor after the Miller Road meeting, the governor said he had heard all that transpired during the meeting and that his decision to join the APC is irreversible.


Deputy governor’s impeachment imminent

The deputy governor of the state, Aminu Abdulsalam, may be the first casualty of the political Tsunami that may hit the NNPP in Kano. Insiders said as part of the governor’s plan to gain the support of the APC powerbrokers in Kano, the governor is proposing the APC deputy governorship candidate in 2023 election Murtala Sule-Garo as Mr Abdussalam’s replacement, while the 2023 APC flagbearer Nasiru Gawuna his being proposed as Kano Central senatorial candidate in 2027.


Past defection plans

Since the Supreme Court judgement on Kano governorship election, the governor had making spirited efforts to convince Mr Kwankwaso to join the APC. In November last year, DAILY NIGERIAN reported the deepening rift in Kano NNPP as the governor snubbed meetings and refused to pick the calls of his godfather, Rabiu Kwankwaso.

In 2024, a political slogan, Abba Tsaya da Kafarka — Abba, stand on your feet, or, more bluntly, Abba, part ways with Kwankwaso — had gained prominence in Kano as calls from within and outside the party for the governor to be independent intensified.

The governor, while pledging his loyalty to Mr Kwankwaso, dismissed our November 2024 report and dissociated himself from the Abba Tsaya da Kafarka movement. Spokesman for the governor, Sanusi Dawakintofa, has yet to respond to our reporter’s call and text message, seeking response on the matter.

Ibehchizzy:
full on d loose

Ibehchizzy:
So he wrote off debts of money diverted for personal use
So how does he claim he fights corruption
What this means is that officials can loot as they want. After all at the end of the day tif/ nubu would still write it off as a bad debt

Day169:
.. in order words, the president empowered the rogues at NNPC, after repeated turn around maintainance and upfront sales of crude with $1.42 billion and 5.57 trillion naira?
Mehn, this country is just one big "crime scene"!

onatisi:
Most of those debts and looting happened during Buhari APC 8 year rule ,all of the looters are APC members .

ColdHunter:
Did you even read what you are posting?

The lady in question contested the seat. While the persons in the OP were nominated, simply because of their deceased parents

The New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) has approved Aminu Sa’ad and Nabil Daneji—sons of two deceased Kano legislators—to contest the seats made vacant by the deaths of their fathers in the Kano State House of Assembly.

Arostar2023:
Read this. Isn't it your government you should be asking for pictures,since they have acknowledged their participation in the strike?

mascot87:
Once you see the comment of an illiterate, it will be very glaring. It is only an illiterate without both formal and informal education that doesn't know the difference between collaboration and invasion

jmoore:
Tell Bayo Onanugaraga to go and take the pictures.

Babablu Bulabu

jmoore:
Riley Moore pointed out that the mission was to stop slaughter of Christians(Christian genocide). Same Christian genocide, your Tinubu government has denied.


You want the picture from who? USA or Tinubu? USA will do the most difficult task of dropping bombs and you are waiting for pictures from them. It's the duty of Tinubu government to provide the pictures. Shey they claimed they are part of the coordination?

Imindmybusiness:
So it's true that they cordinated with federal government. We will never forgive Bayo Onanuga for inviting Trump to invade Nigeria.

Iamzik:
Only a failure blames a man that left power 10 years ago. Shame on all of you APC supporters. Everything you complained about under Jonathan APC has done 10x worse but because you lack critical thinking you will look for excuses to justify nonsense. Shior!

CyynthiaKiss:
Why did Bola Tinubu seek Turkey’s assistance as suggested by Gummi ?

Why seeking for Turkey”s assistance again , when they claimed they have joint military operations with America ?

Is it that America is not capable of, or is there something they are yet to tell us ?

Nlfmod

Goo0dHardDick:
Gumi is the one controlling the govt more reason why fg cannot arrest him

IGBOPROMISE1:
When you understand that all his moves have political undertones, you’ll understand better the aim of inviting Turkey to assist just as Gumi demanded!

“Our orders for four attack helicopters from the United States of America will take some time to arrive. We have approached Turkey for assistance."

SisterAnn:
This same fayose you hopelessly abused just few years ago should not be the reason you will loose your head over the arguments here.

Ofunaofu:
The distinction between allocation and intervention funds is irrelevant here. Fayose should first provide documentary evidence of all funds allocations and interventions he received as governor of Ekiti State and how they were spent. Until then, his claim that Makinde received a N50 billion intervention fund from Tinubu remains infantile and unserious

And Let me add that If Fayose insists that Tinubu gave Makinde N50 billion, and he keeps denying it, then Tinubu owes Nigerians an explanation: whether such money was given, how it was transferred, which account received it or whether it was moved through bullion vans and whether the funds came from his personal resources or from the nation’s common wealth.

SisterAnn:
Okay.

But please Where is the purpoted evidence of this Op?

Cajal:
Let's talk about that of Oyo state now

Do you have an idea of where he kept the remaining

Leak it pls

Ofunaofu:
Fayose should use this opportunity to show documentary evidence of all the allocations he received as governor of Ekiti State and how he spent them. Only then can he be taken seriously over his infantile claims that Makinde received a N50 billion intervention fund from Tinubu.

CodeTemplarr:
...theŕe was honest effort to curtail it under non-APC govt. Today, APC is protecting them.

adenigga:
Source: https://punchng.com/terrorists-relocate-after-us-air-strikes

Iamzik:
The same terrorists that were imported by your demonic APC because they wanted to win election. The bombing, chibok girls kidnapping and all the attricities commited were political and you know it. Chief I'm trying hard not to insult you back because you type like an APC zombie

Amumaigwe:
So the US did not invade Nigeria on Dec. 25th night? What do we then call their actions?

ChoCho54:
There are criminals everywhere and the local authority is taken them out.
Trump also knows IPOB and ESN are not terrorists groups. ESN instead is a counter terrorists organization. Trump knows this Wella .
No amount of finger pointing will save your brothers in sambisa.