Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, who ran for president under the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) in 2023 and leads the influential Kwankwasiyya Movement, has predicted that Kano State Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf will come to regret his departure from the party.
Speaking in a BBC Hausa Service interview monitored by our correspondent in Kaduna on Wednesday, Kwankwaso expressed disbelief at the governor’s defection, describing the development as both surprising and puzzling.
The former Kano State governor said the circumstances of Yusuf’s exit seemed almost surreal, even to him.
“People keep telling me they think this was all planned either between the two of us or between me and those close to him. There are times when even I struggle to believe how things have turned out this way,” Kwankwaso stated.
He maintained that time would expose the implications of the decision, expressing certainty that Governor Yusuf and those who joined him in leaving would ultimately regret walking away from the NNPP.
Governor Yusuf officially joined the All Progressives Congress (APC) on Monday, January 26, 2026, days after resigning from the NNPP on Friday, January 23.
The switch occurred barely three years after Yusuf secured the Kano governorship under the NNPP banner, a party deeply linked to Kwankwaso and his Kwankwasiyya political structure.
The defection has sparked significant commentary both within Kano State and beyond, particularly given the historic political alliance between Kwankwaso and Yusuf, and the crucial role the NNPP played in bringing the governor to power.
READ ALSO:
- Nigerian Law School Denies Barring Hijab-Wearing Candidates From Bar Exams
- Court Sacks Mark-Led ADC Exco, Voids Atiku’s Candidacy
- Enugu Air Set To Begin Lagos–London Flights In December 2026
- Makinde: Nigeria Is Rich In Resources But Poor In Ideas
- Lagos Raises N445bn Through Capital Market To Fund Infrastructure Projects
