‘It’s Betrayal Of Kano, Kwankwasiyya Movement’, NNPP Slams Governor Yusuf Over Defection

The New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) has expressed deep disappointment over the resignation of Kano State governor, Abba Yusuf, from the party, describing the move as a betrayal of the people of the state and a major setback to the Kwankwasiyya ideals he once championed.

In a statement issued on Friday, the NNPP National Publicity Secretary, Oladipo Johnson, said history has shown that politicians who sacrifice loyalty for convenience and integrity for deceit rarely escape the judgement of the people.

LEADERSHIP reported on Friday that Governor Yusuf, who rose to power with the backing of former Kano State governor and national leader of the Kwankwasiyya Movement, Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, announced his resignation from the NNPP after weeks of speculation and political tension in the state.

Although he has yet to officially declare his next political destination, recent political engagements have fueled speculation that he may be heading to the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Reacting to the development, the NNPP said it received the news with “deep sorrow and disappointment,” warning that Governor Yusuf’s decision could return Kano State to political forces that have historically opposed its development and the aspirations of its people.

“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 chosen to betray that sacred trust,” the party said. “By this action, he risks handing the state back to the very forces that have long stood against its progress.”

The party dismissed claims by the governor that the NNPP was engulfed in an irredeemable internal crisis, describing such assertions as baseless and an afterthought.

It noted that the party had successfully conducted congresses from the ward level to the national convention on December 20, 2025, with the governor in attendance and under the supervision of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

The NNPP further recalled that it had recently recorded electoral successes, winning supplementary elections in the Bagwai/Shanono and Ghari/Tsanyawa constituencies in August 2025, barely three months ago—developments it said clearly contradicted claims of internal collapse.

Drawing parallels with past political events in Kano State, the party cited the defection of former governor, Alhaji Abubakar Rimi, from the People’s Redemption Party (PRP) to the Nigerian People’s Party (NPP) in the early 1980s. According to the NNPP, despite Rimi defecting with the bulk of elected officials at the time, the electorate ultimately rejected the move at the polls.

“In the 1983 gubernatorial election, Rimi was decisively defeated by Mallam Aliyu Sabo Bakin Zuwo of the PRP,” the statement recalled, adding that only one out of the 120 Kano State Assembly members who defected with Rimi was re-elected—an outcome the party said should serve as a cautionary lesson.

The NNPP urged its members and the people of Kano State to remain calm and avoid actions that could lead to discord, stressing that the loyalty of the electorate to principled leadership would ultimately prevail.

“While this development is deeply painful for all who have invested in the Kwankwasiyya vision, we call on the 1,019,602 voters who supported Governor Abba Yusuf, as well as the good people of Kano State and Nigeria, to remain calm, patient and restrained,” the party said.

“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 triumph.”