Former presidential candidate and national leader of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, has expressed deep hurt and disbelief over the defection of Kano State Governor, Abba Kabir Yusuf, insisting that the governor and his associates will ultimately regret abandoning the party that brought them to power.
Kwankwaso said Governor Yusuf’s exit from the NNPP came as a profound shock, not only to party supporters but also to him personally, noting that the development initially felt unreal.
“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.
On Monday, January 26, 2026, Governor Yusuf formally defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC), days 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 during the event marking his defection, Governor Yusuf said his decision followed a reassessment of the direction of Nigerian politics and what he described as the need to align with a path capable of delivering development to the people of Kano State.
He added that he consulted widely with his political associates and key stakeholders before deciding to leave the NNPP.
However, in his first media interview since parting ways with Governor Yusuf, Kwankwaso told the BBC that he felt deeply disappointed that the governor had, in his words, “handed over the mandate of the NNPP members and the people of Kano to the Gandujiyya political camp” without any convincing justification.
Kwankwaso said the defection has left him with unanswered questions and personal reflection.
“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,” he said.
The NNPP leader explained that all the reasons Governor Yusuf either personally presented to him or sent through intermediaries were issues that could have been resolved through dialogue, patience, and cooperation.
He also rejected claims of an internal crisis within the NNPP—one of the reasons cited by the governor for defecting—arguing that disagreement is a normal feature of political parties.
“I can assure you, 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 candidate selection processes, then you will see disputes,” Kwankwaso said.
Reacting to individuals who have left the NNPP but continue to profess loyalty to the Kwankwasiyya ideology, Kwankwaso framed the situation in stark moral terms, describing it as a choice between opposing forces.
“Light and darkness have already been defined in Kano. If you want to practice Kwankwasiyya, who asked you to leave Kwankwasiyya? Stay where Kwankwasiyya is and practice it there,” he said.
Kwankwaso further took aim at the manner in which former Kano State Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje received Governor Yusuf into the APC, describing the public display as politically hollow.
According to him, the act of Ganduje publicly raising Yusuf’s hand was a clear sign that the governor “has already lost the election.”
“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 stressed that he remains convinced that Governor Yusuf and his associates will face serious political challenges within the APC, adding pointedly that even if the governor never returns to the NNPP, “he will regret it.”
Kwankwaso also spoke about the future of the Kwankwasiyya movement, insisting that Kano remains firmly within the NNPP fold and revealing that efforts are already underway to build alliances aimed at rescuing Nigeria from its current challenges.
Kwankwaso remains one of the most influential political figures in northern Nigeria, particularly due to his strong appeal among young people.
Political observers note that since the era of Malam Aminu Kano, no other northern politician has successfully built a named political ideology with such a disciplined and loyal mass following as Kwankwaso.
He leads the Kwankwasiyya political movement, whose followers are widely recognised by their signature red caps.
After completing his tenure as governor, Kwankwaso initially supported his deputy, Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, as his successor, but the relationship later collapsed, leading both men to part ways politically.
This fallout paved the way for Kwankwaso to field Abba Kabir Yusuf against Ganduje during 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 Kano State governor—making his defection all the more painful for the NNPP leader and his supporters.
