Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf of Kano State is set to formally defect from the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) following a three-hour closed-door meeting with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu at the Presidential Villa on Monday.
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Multiple sources familiar with the discussions confirmed that the meeting resolved outstanding political concerns that had earlier slowed the governor’s planned defection, clearing the way for a formal announcement expected within days—possibly as early as Tuesday or Wednesday.
The governor arrived at the Presidential Villa at approximately 4:10 p.m., dressed in a white gown (babbar riga) and red cap, and departed shortly after 7 p.m. He declined to speak with journalists after leaving, stating only that he “will be back.”
According to insiders, Yusuf’s hesitation in recent weeks was linked to uncertainty over his political future within the APC, particularly assurances regarding his 2027 re-election bid, the fate of his current political structure, and the security of his supporters within the ruling party.
“He may announce it formally tomorrow (Tuesday) or a day after because everything has been resolved,” a source with knowledge of the discussions revealed. “The president wants him in the APC, and the governor also wants to align with the president.”
Sources said President Tinubu personally assured Yusuf of his value to the APC’s political calculations, especially in Kano and the wider North West, where the party lost ground in the 2023 elections.
Further confirmation of the imminent defection emerged from multiple quarters. Alhassan Ado Doguwa, member representing Doguwa/Tudun Wada Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, disclosed in a viral video that the APC’s planned electronic registration exercise in Kano had been suspended following a directive from President Tinubu to await Yusuf’s formal defection.
“What do you do now that Tinubu said he has received Abba?” Doguwa said. “We were supposed to start the registration tomorrow, but they said we should wait until he comes and he will be the one to unveil it.”
The Chairman of Kano State APC, Abdullahi Abbas, confirmed that Governor Yusuf may register and collect the party’s membership card between Tuesday and Wednesday.
Addressing about 1,500 ad hoc staff engaged by the party to conduct the e-registration in the state, Abbas disclosed that the party decided to delay the commencement of the exercise until the party leader in the state, Dr. Abdullahi Ganduje, and the Governor arrive from their meeting with President Tinubu in Abuja.
“Be on standby, we may call on you tomorrow, Tuesday, depending on the arrival of the party leader, Ganduje and the Governor in Kano, so that you can start the work. But it will not exceed Wednesday,” Abbas said.
The party chairman stated that the APC targets to surpass any state, including Lagos, in membership registration. He announced a reward system for Local Government Areas and wards that mobilize and achieve the highest membership during the exercise.
“We will reward the Local government that registers more members, according to Dr. Ganduje. And if the Governor defects, those Local governments and wards can also be compensated with a Commissioner seat or something,” Abbas explained.
The APC in Kano State has openly welcomed the prospect of Yusuf’s defection, describing it as a significant boost to the party ahead of future elections.
The party’s state secretary, Ibrahim Zakari Sarina, told Daily Trust that arrangements had already been concluded to receive the governor and other defectors, pending a date to be fixed by the Presidency.
“Nothing much about the defection was discussed, but the matter came up. We don’t have anything against it. In fact, we are happy,” Sarina said. “All arrangements have been concluded so far. We are now waiting for the Presidency to fix a date.”
However, regarding Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, the NNPP national leader, Sarina said the APC would not force him to join.
“For Kwankwaso, it seems he is not interested, and that is fine. If he decides to come, he is welcome,” he said, while cautioning that the party would not tolerate internal crises. “All that we don’t want from him is crisis.”
While preparations appear advanced for Yusuf’s defection, uncertainty remains over the political future of Senator Kwankwaso, widely regarded as Yusuf’s political benefactor.
Kwankwaso has so far refrained from endorsing Yusuf’s defection, insisting that any such move must be based on clear and binding political guarantees.
Addressing supporters in Kano recently, the former governor warned against what he described as poorly planned defections.
“You don’t leave a party without getting your people ready, and you need to be ready for the people you will meet when you get there,” he said. “You don’t just wake up one day and say you are leaving.”
Kwankwaso clarified that he had not completely ruled out joining the APC but said critical issues must be resolved first.
“I didn’t say I won’t join APC, but we must be clearly assured of the future. I will not go to the APC blindly. I must be clearly informed of my role, the direction of the journey and the fate of our plans for the common people, including the position of our supporters and the Kano State Government. That is my stand,” he stated.
He recalled past experiences in which, according to him, political alliances ended in marginalization. His remarks have reinforced perceptions of underlying tension between Yusuf’s personal political calculations and the collective interests of the Kwankwasiyya political structure.
Despite the apparent inevitability of Yusuf’s defection, reactions among Kwankwasiyya loyalists have been mixed, particularly among youth mobilizers and grassroots organizers.
Two prominent supporters of the movement, MB Aliyu and Usman Kiru, warned that the governor’s move could deepen political divisions in the state.
“If he goes back there, who is he going to meet? These are people we see as enemies of Kano’s progress,” they said in an interview with an online platform.
They insisted that the Kwankwasiyya movement would remain intact regardless of Yusuf’s decision.
“Even if we align with the APC, we will not abandon Kwankwasiyya. We have a system and a leader,” they said, maintaining that political leadership in Kano remains rooted in Kwankwaso’s structure.
Former senator Saidu Dansadau has warned that Nigeria’s political history does not favour governors who defect in pursuit of a second term.
Speaking on Trust TV’s 30 Minutes programme, Dansadau cited several historical examples of politicians who lost re-election bids after defecting.
He recalled how South-West governors who defected to support President Olusegun Obasanjo in 2003 lost their seats, except Bola Tinubu, who refused to defect.
He also cited the cases of former Nasarawa governor Aliyu Akwe Doma and former Zamfara governor Mahmuda Shinkafi, arguing that their defections ended in political defeat.
“These are consequences of political betrayal,” Dansadau said, adding that religious texts themselves emphasize historical lessons. “More than half of the Qur’an and the Bible is history. It is for people to learn from the past.”
Yusuf’s potential defection has been the subject of speculation since late last year, following subtle political signals suggesting a recalibration of his relationship with the APC-led federal government.
Although the governor has publicly maintained silence on the issue, several of his aides and political associates have, in recent months, openly engaged APC leaders both in Kano and Abuja, fueling expectations of an imminent move.
Reports last week suggested that the defection plan had encountered obstacles after APC leaders were said to be cautious about offering firm commitments, particularly on the issue of an automatic return ticket in 2027. That hesitation reportedly forced the governor to slow down, even as defections by some of his supporters at the local government and ward levels gathered pace.
Monday’s meeting with President Tinubu appears to have revived momentum and cleared the path for what could be one of the most significant political realignments in Nigeria’s North West region ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The APC chairman explained that for the e-registration exercise, prospective members need both a National ID card and a voter’s card.
“Whoever is without a voter’s card does not need to register. Because you are of no use. For E-registration, you need a National ID card and a voter’s card. Then you do your E-registration. It is with it that we can determine the level of work to be done for our party victory,” Abbas stated.
He called on the ad hoc staff engaged for the exercise to register anyone who indicates interest in the party’s membership card without discrimination.
“You don’t select those you register; whoever is interested should be attended to so that we emerge victorious,” he emphasized.
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