‘I’ve Never Been This Let Down Politically’ — Kwankwaso Reacts to Kano Governor’s Defection to APC
Rabiu Kwankwaso, national leader of the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP), has said he has never felt as politically betrayed as he does now, following the defection of Kano State Governor Abba Yusuf to the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Yusuf, a close ally of Kwankwaso, joined the APC on Monday after resigning from the NNPP last Friday. In his resignation letter, the governor attributed his decision to “deepening internal crises” and “prolonged leadership disputes” within the party.
In a video published by Saifullahi Hassan, his media aide, Kwankwaso addressed supporters at his residence, saying it would have been preferable if Yusuf had joined the African Democratic Congress (ADC) instead.
The former Kano governor accused Yusuf of surrendering the NNPP’s mandate to political adversaries.
Kwankwaso recalled the political struggle they endured after the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared the 2019 Kano governorship election inconclusive.
“Injustice. In my entire life, I cannot remember where such a thing has ever been done before,” Kwankwaso said in Hausa.
“It would even be better if it was the ADC, something new, they (referring to Yusuf and loyalists) went to. Rather, they took it (mandate) away and handed over to enemies.
“Look at the struggle we went through in 2019, look at the election that became inconclusive, look at the courts.
“There’s an Igbo man named Pius Anyim, former senate president. When the issue started, he called me immediately and I asked for his whereabouts.
“He told me he’s in the house and I went there and met him. Before we even finished greetings, he asked me if the news he’s hearing is true or not? He held his head.
“I had forgotten that in 2019, I took him to the homes of all the supreme court judges in Nigeria to beg them. I and the governor met them in their villages, and towns.”
INEC declared the March 9, 2019, Kano governorship election inconclusive after the margin between the two leading candidates fell below the number of cancelled votes.
Yusuf, then the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), polled 1,014,353 votes, ahead of Abdullahi Ganduje of the APC, who secured 953,522 votes — a margin of 26,655 votes.
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