NNPP Accuses Kano Governor Yusuf of "Cold Betrayal" Following Defection to APC

The National Working Committee of the New Nigeria Peoples Party has described Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf’s resignation from the party as “a cold betrayal of a sacred trust,” dismissing his claims of an internal crisis as baseless and an afterthought.

Yusuf, who governs Kano State, formally resigned from the NNPP on Friday and is expected to join the All Progressives Congress, marking a significant political realignment in one of Nigeria’s most politically consequential states.

The governor’s spokesperson, Sanusi Bature, announced the development in a statement on Friday, revealing that Yusuf had communicated his decision in a letter addressed to the NNPP chairperson of Diso-Chiranchi Ward in Gwale Local Government Area, effective January 23, 2026.

“I write with a deep sense of gratitude to formally notify the leadership of the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP) of my decision to resign my membership of the party, with effect from Friday, 23rd January 2026,” Bature quoted the governor as saying.

In a strongly-worded statement signed on Saturday by the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Ladipo Johnson, the NNPP expressed profound disappointment over what it characterized as a betrayal of the people of Kano State.

“It is with profound anguish and deep disappointment that we received the news of the resignation and defection of His Excellency, Alhaji Abba Kabir Yusuf, from the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP),” the statement read.

The party leadership argued that Yusuf, who was elected on the strength of his decades of loyalty to the Kwankwasiyya Movement—a political structure built around former Kano State Governor Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso—had now abandoned the trust placed in him by over one million voters.

“We deeply regret that Governor Abba, a man entrusted by the people of Kano State on the strength of his decades of unwavering loyalty and dedicated service to the Kwankwasiyya Movement, has now chosen to betray that sacred trust. By this action, he risks returning the state to the very forces that have long opposed its progress and the aspirations of its people,” the statement added.

The NNPP rejected Governor Yusuf’s assertion that an irredeemable crisis within the party prompted his departure, describing the claim as unfounded.

Johnson pointed to recent party activities as evidence of organizational stability, noting that the NNPP had recently conducted congresses for its leadership structures from ward to national level.

“It is noteworthy that our party, the NNPP had recently conducted congresses for its leadership from the ward to the national convention, held on 20th December 2025, which the governor himself was present, and INEC had supervised,” the statement noted.

The party also highlighted its recent electoral successes in Kano State, including victories in two supplementary elections for Bagwai/Shanono and Ghari/Tsanyawa constituencies held in August 2025.

“The party had also participated and won in two supplementary elections for Bagwai/Shanono and Ghari/Tsanyawa constituency, respectively held in August 2025, about three months ago. The assertion he made of an irredeemable crisis in the party is therefore baseless and an afterthought,” the statement continued.

In a pointed historical reference, the NNPP invoked the precedent of a similar political defection in Kano State during the Second Republic, drawing parallels between Governor Yusuf’s actions and those of former Governor Abubakar Rimi.

“This is not the first time such a betrayal has occurred in the political history of Kano. In the early 1980s, Alhaji Abubakar Rimi defected from the People’s Redemption Party (PRP) to the Nigerian People’s Party (NPP), taking with him the vast majority of elected officials—including nearly all local government chairmen and councillors, 120 out of 126 members of the Kano State House of Assembly, and most Kano representatives in the National Assembly,” the statement recalled.

The party noted that despite the mass defection, Rimi suffered a humiliating defeat in the 1983 gubernatorial election, losing to Mallam Aliyu Sabo Bakin Zuwo of the PRP.

“Yet, the electorate delivered a resounding verdict: In the 1983 gubernatorial election, Rimi was humiliatingly defeated by Mallam Aliyu Sabo Bakin Zuwo of the PRP, finishing second. Even more telling, of the 120 state assembly members who joined Rimi’s defection, only one was re-elected—an outcome that should serve as a sobering lesson to any politician contemplating the path of disloyalty,” the statement added.

Despite the acrimony surrounding the defection, the NNPP leadership called for calm and restraint among party supporters and the people of Kano State.

“While this development is deeply disturbing and painful for all who have invested in the Kwankwasiyya vision, we urge the 1,019,602 people that cast their votes for his election, as well as the good people of Kano State and Nigeria to remain calm, patient, and restrained. Let us not descend into acrimony or division,” the statement urged.

The party expressed confidence that history would vindicate its position, asserting that political betrayal rarely escapes the judgment of the electorate.

“History has consistently shown that those who trade loyalty for expediency, and honour for deceit, rarely escape the judgment of the people. The truth endures, and the loyalty of Kano’s masses to principled leadership will ultimately prevail,” the statement concluded.