Gov Yusuf will regret leaving NNPP for APC – Kwankwaso

Former presidential candidate and leader of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, has said he is convinced that Kano State Governor, Abba Kabir Yusuf, and his political associates will eventually regret their decision to defect from the party.

Kwankwaso said Governor Yusuf’s exit from the NNPP came as a shock to many party members and supporters, admitting that he initially struggled to believe the development.

“Many people I spoke to felt it was some kind of arrangement—between him and me, or between him and others. Even I often find it hard to believe that things are unfolding the way they are,” Kwankwaso said.

Governor Yusuf officially defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC) on Monday, January 26, 2026, after announcing his resignation from the NNPP on Friday, January 23, barely three years after winning the Kano governorship on the party’s platform.

Speaking at the event marking his defection, Yusuf said his decision was informed by his assessment of the direction of Nigerian politics and the need to align with what he described as a path that would deliver development to Kano State.

He said he consulted widely with political associates and other stakeholders before making the move.

However, in his first media interview since the split, Kwankwaso told the BBC that he was deeply disappointed by the governor’s action, accusing him of handing over “the mandate of NNPP members and the people of Kano to the Gandujiyya political camp” without any compelling justification.

“When I lie down, I reflect and ask myself: what really happened? Who was at fault? Was it me? Was it the party? Were party members at fault? But I have not been able to find an answer,” Kwankwaso said.

The NNPP leader maintained that all the reasons conveyed to him—either directly by the governor or through intermediaries—were issues that could have been resolved through dialogue and cooperation.

Kwankwaso also dismissed claims of an internal crisis within the NNPP, which Governor Yusuf cited as one of the reasons for his defection, insisting that no political party is entirely free of disagreements.

“To the best of my knowledge, there is no party more peaceful and stable than the NNPP. And if there is any, let them hold their national convention and conduct candidate selection processes; then you will see disputes,” he said.

Reacting to individuals who have left the NNPP but still claim loyalty to the Kwankwasiyya ideology, Kwankwaso described the situation as a clear choice between “light and darkness.”

“Light and darkness have already been defined in Kano. If you want to practise Kwankwasiyya, who asked you to leave Kwankwasiyya? Stay where Kwankwasiyya is and practise it there,” he said.

Kwankwaso further argued that the public manner in which former Kano State Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje received Governor Yusuf into the APC and raised his hand was evidence that the governor had already suffered political defeat.

“If Ganduje truly had the power to raise someone’s hand to victory, he would have done so in 2019. If he had that power, he would have done so in 2023,” Kwankwaso said.

He insisted that Governor Yusuf and his allies would face serious political challenges within the APC, stressing that “even if he does not return, he will regret it.”

On the future of the Kwankwasiyya movement, Kwankwaso said Kano remains firmly with the NNPP, adding that efforts were already underway to build alliances aimed at “rescuing Nigeria from its current situation.”

Kwankwaso remains one of the most influential politicians in northern Nigeria, particularly due to his strong appeal among young people.

Political observers note that since the era of Malam Aminu Kano, no northern politician has successfully built a named political ideology with a mass following comparable to Kwankwasiyya, whose supporters are widely recognised by their red caps.

After completing his tenure as governor, Kwankwaso supported his former deputy, Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, as his successor.

However, both men later fell out, leading Kwankwaso to sponsor Abba Kabir Yusuf against Ganduje in the 2019 governorship election, which Yusuf lost following a controversial supplementary poll in Gama Local Government Area.

Kwankwaso again backed Yusuf in the subsequent election, where he defeated Ganduje’s preferred candidate, Nasiru Yusuf Gawuna, to emerge as governor of Kano State.

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