Governor Yusuf will regret leaving us – Kwankwaso

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 NNPP.

Kwankwaso said the governor’s exit from the party came as a shock to many people, adding that he initially struggled to believe the development himself.

“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.

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, less than three years after winning the Kano governorship election on the party’s platform.

Speaking at the event marking his defection, Yusuf said his decision was informed by his assessment of the direction of Nigerian politics and the need to align with a path he believes would bring development to Kano State. He said he consulted with political associates and other stakeholders before taking the decision.

However, in his first media interview since the defection, Kwankwaso told the BBC that he was deeply disappointed that the governor “handed over the mandate of the NNPP members and the people of Kano to the Gandujiyya political camp” without what he described as any strong justification.

“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,” Kwankwaso said.

He maintained that the reasons given by the governor for leaving the party were issues that could have been resolved through dialogue and cooperation. Kwankwaso also rejected claims of an internal crisis within the NNPP, which Yusuf cited as one of the reasons for his defection.

“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,” he said.

Commenting on those who have left the NNPP but continue to claim allegiance to the Kwankwasiyya ideology, Kwankwaso described the situation as a choice between opposing paths.

“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 also criticised the manner in which former Kano State Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje welcomed Yusuf into the APC, saying the public display was a sign that the governor had already suffered a political setback.

“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,” he said.

He said he was certain that Yusuf and his associates would face serious political challenges within the APC and insisted that, “even if he does not return, he will regret it.”
 

Kwankwaso again sponsored Yusuf in the subsequent election, where he defeated Ganduje’s preferred candidate, Nasiru Yusuf Gawuna, to emerge as Kano State governor.