<\/p>\n
A chieftain of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) has alleged that Kano State Governor, Abba Kabir Yusuf, defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC) out of fear of losing the 2027 general election.<\/p>\n
The NNPP said the governor\u2019s move was based on personal political survival and not on the interest of the people of Kano State. <\/p>\n
The party warned that the defection has created a major political break within Kano politics ahead of the next election cycle.<\/p>\n
Speaking during an interview on Tuesday, the Secretary of the NNPP Board of Trustees, Engineer Buba Galadima, described Yusuf\u2019s decision as a betrayal of the political family that brought him to power.<\/p>\n
He said the governor\u2019s alliance with former Kano State governor, Abdullahi Ganduje, was painful and unacceptable, considering Ganduje\u2019s long-standing rivalry with NNPP leader, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso.<\/p>\n
\u201cHis own personal interest \u2014 personal, personal, personal,\u201d Galadima said while reacting to the defection.
\u201cNot Kano people. Not peace in Kano. He wanted us to swallow it, but we can neither take any of the above.\u201d<\/p>\n
Galadima explained that the NNPP would have reacted differently if Yusuf had joined another political party.<\/p>\n
\u201cHad Governor Yusuf moved from NNPP to another platform other than APC, I could have said he moved well,\u201d he said.
\u201cBut in this case, it is only a matter of survival.\u201d<\/p>\n
He described the development as a historic betrayal and said the NNPP leadership felt deeply hurt by the governor\u2019s action.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf I could shed tears over anything, this touched me beyond expression,\u201d Galadima said.
\u201cI don\u2019t give in to sentiment easily, but this cut deep.\u201d<\/p>\n
Galadima recalled the sacrifices made by NNPP leaders to ensure Yusuf emerged as governor.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is nothing under the sun we did not do for Abba Kabir Yusuf to prevail \u2014 and he did prevail,\u201d he said.
\u201cFor three days, Kwankwaso and I did not sleep. We travelled, we struggled, we put everything on the line.\u201d<\/p>\n
He further stated that former President Muhammadu Buhari played a role in Yusuf\u2019s eventual victory after the legal battles that followed the 2023 election.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe man who took our victory in 2019 and gave it to Ganduje later stood firm and said, \u2018This boy won his election. Give him his victory,\u2019\u201d Galadima said.
\u201cAbba Kabir Yusuf was made governor through the courts and through Buhari. God was at work.\u201d<\/p>\n
According to Galadima, Yusuf abandoned the political values that once sustained him.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe left what he trusted before and put his faith in human beings,\u201d he said.
\u201cHe believed that even if he won again, APC would still take it, so why not join them?\u201d<\/p>\n
Reacting to claims that the governor had freed himself from Kwankwaso\u2019s influence, Galadima rejected the argument.<\/p>\n
\u201cThree months into his tenure, he abandoned Kwankwaso,\u201d he said.
\u201cBut publicly, he still treated him like a king. What happens behind closed doors is different.\u201d<\/p>\n
He disclosed that the NNPP chose to remain silent until Yusuf publicly announced his defection.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe decided to keep quiet so that he would use his own mouth to say he was leaving us,\u201d Galadima said.
\u201cToday, we have the sympathy of the people of Kano.\u201d<\/p>\n
Galadima claimed that the governor had lost the support of ordinary citizens in the state.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf today there is a free and fair election, Abba Kabir Yusuf cannot get five per cent of the votes of Kano people,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
He also described Yusuf\u2019s public appearance alongside Ganduje and other APC leaders as painful.<\/p>\n
\u201cAll of them \u2014 Ganduje, Bado Jibril, others \u2014 were products of Kwankwaso\u2019s political school,\u201d Galadima said.
\u201cSeeing them raise Abba\u2019s hand is bitter.\u201d<\/p>\n
He alleged that the defection was motivated by hostility toward Kwankwaso\u2019s popularity among the masses.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey felt Kwankwaso was too accepted by the ordinary people,\u201d Galadima said.
\u201cThey thought they could destroy him. They cannot.\u201d<\/p>\n
Galadima also reacted to Yusuf\u2019s comment about ending \u201cblind loyalty,\u201d insisting it was not targeted at Kwankwaso.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat message was not for Kwankwaso,\u201d he said. On Yusuf\u2019s loyalty to NNPP, Galadima questioned whether the governor was ever committed to the party.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t think he was ever NNPP,\u201d he said. He further alleged that Yusuf had been working in the interest of the APC even while serving as an NNPP governor.<\/p>\n \u201cHe was not working for NNPP. He was working for APC,\u201d Galadima said.<\/p>\n Despite losing its only sitting governor, Galadima maintained that the NNPP would survive and rebuild.<\/p>\n \u201cBefore him, we had nobody \u2014 no councillor, no legislator, no governor,\u201d he said. Turning to national politics, Galadima accused President Bola Tinubu <\/a>of consolidating political power ahead of the 2027 elections.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was for his new masters \u2014 Tinubu <\/a>and Ganduje \u2014 to say he will not show blind loyalty to them either.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was only a beneficiary of the NNPP.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat stopped God from doing that miracle once cannot stop Him again.\u201d<\/p>\n