Former NNPP presidential candidate Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso has expressed deep disappointment over Kano State Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf’s defection to the APC, warning that the governor and his allies will eventually regret leaving the party.
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 close associates will eventually regret leaving the party. Kwankwaso described the governor’s exit as shocking, noting that it initially felt unreal even to him. “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,” he 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, 2026, less than three years after winning the Kano governorship on the party’s platform. Speaking at the event marking his defection, the governor said his decision followed an assessment of the direction of Nigerian politics and the need to align with a path he believes would bring development to the people of Kano State. He added that he consulted with his political associates and other stakeholders before making the move.
However, in his first media interview since parting ways with Governor Yusuf, Kwankwaso told the BBC that he was deeply disappointed by the defection, accusing the governor of betraying the party’s supporters. He said the governor “handed over the mandate of the NNPP members and the people of Kano to the Gandujiyya political camp” without any strong justification.