Kano State Governor, Abba Yusuf, is set to formally defect from the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) on Monday.
Governor Yusuf, the only NNPP governor in the country, has arrived in Abuja ahead of the planned defection, where final arrangements are currently underway.
Sources close to the development revealed that Vice President Kashim Shettima and APC National Chairman, Yitwalda Nentawe, will officially receive the governor in Abuja.
In anticipation of the move, key APC figures in Kano have been placed on standby. Former Kano State Governor and APC leader, Abdullahi Ganduje, was recalled from a trip to Dubai, while the state APC chairman, Abdullahi Abbas, reportedly cut short his lesser hajj to facilitate the issuance of an APC membership card to Governor Yusuf at his Diso Ward in Gwale Local Government Area.
Governor Yusuf is also expected to meet with Ganduje later in the week to strategize on strengthening the party’s foothold in Kano State.
Meanwhile, it was gathered that President Bola Tinubu was initially hesitant to accept Yusuf into the APC without his political godfather, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, who commands a strong grassroots following across Kano and parts of northern Nigeria.
“The president initially insisted that he would not accept the governor’s defection without Kwankwaso. However, after efforts to persuade Kwankwaso failed, Governor Hope Uzodinma intervened and convinced the president to accept Yusuf alone,” a source disclosed.
Ahead of the defection, local government caucuses across the state, acting on the governor’s directive, publicly aligned with him and urged him to lead them into the APC in a last-minute push.
However, Yusuf’s sudden fallout with his longtime mentor and benefactor, Rabiu Kwankwaso, has sparked outrage within the Kwankwasiyya movement, with many loyalists openly condemning the governor’s action and reaffirming their allegiance to Kwankwaso.