A major political shift in the artery of the nation’s body politic is about to take place, as Kano State Governor, Abba Kabir Yusuf, is being prepped to join the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), alongside members of his New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), THISDAY reports.
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Sources in both the NNPP and the APC, THISDAY gathered, contend that negotiations for the huge political swing have reached advanced stages, and barring any last-minute change of mind, the APC may soon welcome its biggest prize so far—Yusuf—into its ever-expanding fold.
Kano, being the state with the highest number of votes in the country, carries special significance on Nigeria’s electoral map and is the dream of any presidential candidate.
The APC leadership targeted the Kano State governor after its initial bid to woo Rabiu Kwankwaso failed. The party then set its sights on Yusuf, who reportedly expressed openness to the idea.
Sensing an opening, APC apparatchiks piled pressure on the governor with attractive offers, which eventually swayed him to make up his mind.
A checks revealed that Yusuf had been trying to convince his political godfather, Rabiu Kwankwaso, to join the APC, believing it was the only way he could secure a second term, given the political realities ahead of the next electoral contest.
Sources at Government House, Kano, confirmed to THISDAY that the governor had been making efforts to persuade Kwankwaso to defect with him to the APC, convinced it was the only way to secure his re-election and preserve the political heritage of the Kwankwasiyya movement at this time.
A party source claimed that the Kwankwasiyya circle has been sharply divided, with some influential members in the state House of Assembly and the National Assembly opting to move with the governor to the APC.
However, some of Kwankwaso’s diehard loyalists have vowed to remain with the NNPP leader until he decides otherwise.
They include the deputy governor, Aminu Abdulsalam, who is alleged to be interested in flying the NNPP flag in the 2027 elections.
In a video clip, the Director-General of Protocol, Government House, Abdullahi Rogo, was seen appealing to party members to work with the governor and join the APC.
Rogo urged both the governor and the leader of the Kwankwasiyya movement, Kwankwaso, to move together into the APC.
One APC chieftain in the state, Imrana Muhammad, posted on his X handle: “After our meeting with the Speaker of the Kano State House of Assembly and other members of Kwankwasiyya, we agreed that Kwankwaso and Kano State Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf should join the APC.”
Interestingly, Kwankwaso had reportedly said at various fora that the NNPP was ready to join the APC under certain conditions, though he was still mulling his position, particularly regarding timing.
He reportedly stated: “We are ready to join the APC under strong conditions and promises. We will not allow anyone to use us and later dump us. Nobody in the country will tell me about the burden we took in creating the APC.
“We were among those who led the creation of the party, and we were the first set of seven governors to declare support for it. The ICPC, EFCC, and the police were all used against me then, just to stop our plans.”
Kwankwaso, who recalled the frustrations of past alliances, had once accused both the APC and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) of flouting agreements.
“Eight years of the APC under immediate past President Muhammadu Buhari gave us nothing, not even appreciation. In the PDP, we asked for just a zonal party chairman, but they refused,” he explained.
However, a reliable party source disclosed to THISDAY that the APC leadership initially approached Kwankwaso and tried to convince him to join the ruling party.
After prolonged back-and-forth and what was perceived as foot-dragging by Kwankwaso, the APC leadership reportedly reviewed its strategy to gain entry into the political capital of the North.
It was in this context that the party leadership approached Yusuf, who reportedly saw the wisdom in aligning with the APC and consented to join the ruling party.
An impeccable APC source claimed that the Kano State governor may have sealed plans with the APC leadership and is merely waiting to formally defect after all formalities are concluded.
Curiously, after Kwankwaso reportedly learned of Yusuf’s plan to defect, he allegedly returned to the APC leadership to renegotiate his own entry into the party.
Nonetheless, although Kwankwaso may not defect at the same time as Yusuf, competent party sources disclosed that he too has resolved to join the APC, but is still weighing his options and considering the timing.
One source told THISDAY that Kwankwaso viewed joining the APC as an easier route to securing Yusuf’s re-election in 2027, with fewer financial demands, given the advantages of being in the ruling party.
In the end, whether together or separately, Kano appears poised to move toward the APC, swelling the ranks of the ruling party and further complicating the path of the opposition ahead of future elections.
For President Bola Tinubu, this could mean that with three crucial states—Lagos, Kano, and Rivers—firmly in his corner, his re-election bid may well be a foregone conclusion.
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