Yusuf’s plan to dump Kwankwaso, join APC jolts power balance in Kano

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.

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

Bashir Ahmad, former media aide to ex-President Muhammadu Buhari, dropped the hint yesterday that Yusuf will likely join the APC in the coming weeks. Ahmad made the statement in a post on his verified X handle on Sunday.

Also, the Director-General of the Protocol Directorate of Kano State Government House, Abdullahi Rogo, has said that the citizens of the state and voters have agreed that the former governor and incumbent, Rabiu Kwankwaso, and Governor Abba Yusuf should defect to APC from the NNPP.

He disclosed this in a viral video released by Arewa Update on Sunday. According to him, the planned defection of the two political heavyweights to APC follows a meeting with the Speaker of the Kano House of Assembly.

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.