The national leader of the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP), Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, has alleged that political appointees and public office holders under Kano Governor Abba Yusuf were being pressured to endorse the governor’s rumoured defection to the All Progressives Congress (APC).
In remarks circulated in a video shared by an aide, Kwankwaso said affected officials — including councillors, chairmen and lawmakers — were being compelled to choose between the Kwankwassiya political movement and what he called “Gandujiyya” (linked to the APC’s political structure in Kano). He said some officials had reported severe stress, including sleeplessness and hospitalisation, and that he advised those under pressure to sign endorsement documents to “ease the pressure” while maintaining that political contests ahead, including 2027, remain open.
The comments come amid growing public speculation about Governor Yusuf’s political future and widening elite tensions inside Kano’s NNPP ecosystem. Premium Times, in an updated report, said an earlier interpretation of the statement had been corrected, emphasising that Kwankwaso’s message was framed as a response to pressure on supporters rather than an outright endorsement of defection.
Separately, the NNPP has also pushed back on claims that Kwankwaso endorsed a defection plan, describing such narratives as false or misleading.
Neither Governor Yusuf’s camp nor the APC leadership has, in the reports cited, confirmed any formal defection timetable. The episode nonetheless signals an intensifying struggle for control of Kano’s political machinery as rival blocs test loyalties and position for the next electoral cycle.
