In a surprising political pivot that has reshaped the dynamics in Kano State, Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, former governor and national leader of the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP), has reversed his earlier opposition and endorsed the planned defection of Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf and other elected NNPP officials to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
Kwankwaso announced his new position in a brief video circulated on Tuesday via Facebook and shared by his media aide, Saifullahi Hassan.
The statement marks a dramatic U-turn from his previous hardline stance, where he had accused the governor and other party members of betraying the mandate entrusted to them by Kano voters on the NNPP platform.
In the video, Kwankwaso explained that his endorsement aims to respect the political rights of party members and to defuse escalating internal tensions within the NNPP in Kano.
The move comes amid prolonged factional disputes, multiple court cases, and warnings from state lawmakers that remaining in the NNPP could jeopardize the governor’s mandate, drawing parallels to the 2019 Zamfara State crisis, where legal battles led to the nullification of election results.
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The development has sent ripples through Kano’s political landscape, following weeks of intense speculation and reported rifts within the Kwankwasiyya movement.
Earlier reports indicated that Governor Yusuf had secured widespread support from the Kano State House of Assembly, local government chairmen, and other key stakeholders for the switch to the APC, with preparations reportedly including obtaining an APC membership card ahead of a formal event.
Political observers interpret Kwankwaso’s shift as a pragmatic effort to retain relevance amid an accelerating realignment. Rather than resist an apparently inevitable momentum, bolstered by the governor’s administrative control and backing from elected officials, the former governor appears to have chosen accommodation over confrontation, potentially preserving his influence among remaining loyalists while avoiding further fragmentation of his political base.
