…Tight Security as Party Gives Governor Nod to Decamp to APC
By Abu Adamu
Security was yesterday tightened around the Kano State Government House amid mounting speculation that Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf may be weighing a defection from the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), as the party’s national leadership openly declared support for whatever political decision he may take in his escalating rift with Rabiu Kwankwaso.
Multiple security formations, including operatives of the Nigeria Police Force and the Department of State Services (DSS), were deployed in and around the seat of power, creating an unusual atmosphere within the Government House precincts. Armoured personnel carriers were stationed at strategic access points, while movement into the area was subjected to strict checks.
The heavy security presence fuelled tension in surrounding neighbourhoods, with reports of traffic build-up on adjoining roads and some schools closing early after parents were alerted to pick up their wards ahead of schedule.
Although no official announcement has been made by the governor, political circles in Kano have been awash with reports that Yusuf is considering a move to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), a development that has further deepened the crisis within the NNPP.
Amid the uncertainty, the NNPP on Monday publicly threw its weight behind Yusuf. In a statement issued by its National Chairman, Dr Agbo Major, the party said it fully supports any political action the governor may choose to take in the face-off between him and Kwankwaso, the party’s 2023 presidential candidate.
Major said as the NNPP’s only serving governor and leader in Kano State, Yusuf deserved the party’s full backing to succeed in office.
“Kwankwaso may have been instrumental in nominating Yusuf to power but as governor, he has to be allowed to excel rather than being distracted by unnecessary politics of personal interest,” the NNPP chairman said.
He stressed that Kano State is critical to the party’s fortunes ahead of the 2027 general elections, warning that the party would not allow what it described as continued interference by Kwankwaso and the Kwankwasiyya Movement to undermine its gains.
Major disclosed that Kwankwaso, who was the NNPP’s presidential flag bearer in 2023, was later expelled from the party for anti-party activities, adding that his personal relationship with the Kano governor should not interfere with governance or determine Yusuf’s political choices.
“The NNPP finds it unbelievable that the same Kwankwaso who betrayed its founder, Dr Boniface Aniebonam, is lamenting about alleged betrayal of trust by the Kano governor,” he said.
The party chairman further accused Kwankwaso of attempting to hijack the NNPP after the 2023 elections, noting that the Memorandum of Understanding between the party and the Kwankwasiyya Movement had since elapsed.
According to him, the wave of litigations initiated by Kwankwaso contributed to the mass defection of NNPP members in Kano to other political parties and weakened his grip on his political base in the state.
“We won’t sit and watch Kwankwaso continue to pull down the Kano governor through utterances and blackmail,” Major said, urging the former governor to emulate the APC’s approach of allowing President Bola Tinubu to govern without undue interference.
While acknowledging that the governor’s reported inclination to join the APC could be seen as “reasonable and responsible” under the circumstances, the NNPP maintained that its preferred option is for Yusuf to remain in the party.
“Our position is that Yusuf should not leave the NNPP but take responsibility as the leader of our great party and propel it to greater opportunities,” Major said.