Defection: NNPP accuses Gov Yusuf of betraying Kano people

The National Working Committee (NWC) of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) has criticised Kano State Governor, Abba Yusuf, following his resignation from the party, describing the move as a betrayal of a “sacred trust.”

In a statement issued on Saturday and signed by the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Ladipo Johnson, the NNPP dismissed Governor Yusuf’s claim of an irredeemable crisis within the party as baseless and an afterthought.

Governor Yusuf had on Friday formally resigned from the NNPP and is widely expected to join the All Progressives Congress (APC). His spokesperson, Sanusi Bature, announced the development, saying the governor conveyed his decision in a letter addressed to the NNPP chairperson of Diso-Chiranchi Ward in Gwale Local Government Area, effective January 23, 2026.

“I write with a deep sense of gratitude to formally notify the leadership of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) of my decision to resign my membership of the party, with effect from Friday, January 23, 2026,” the governor was quoted as saying.

Reacting, the NNPP said it received the news of Yusuf’s resignation with “profound anguish and deep disappointment,” accusing the governor of abandoning the trust placed in him by the people of Kano State.

“We deeply regret that Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf, who was entrusted by the people of Kano State on the strength of his long-standing loyalty to the Kwankwasiyya Movement, has chosen to betray that sacred trust,” the statement read.

The party warned that the governor’s action risked returning Kano State to political forces it said had long opposed the aspirations of its people.

The NNPP further argued that Yusuf’s claim of a deep crisis within the party was unfounded, noting that the party recently conducted congresses from ward to national level, culminating in a national convention on December 20, 2025, which the governor attended and which was supervised by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

It also cited the party’s victory in two supplementary House of Assembly elections held in August 2025 in Bagwai/Shanono and Ghari/Tsanyawa constituencies as evidence of the party’s stability and strength.

Drawing parallels with Kano’s political history, the NNPP recalled the defection of former governor Abubakar Rimi from the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP) in the early 1980s, noting that despite taking many elected officials with him, he was defeated in the subsequent election.

“History has shown that those who abandon loyalty for expediency rarely escape the judgment of the people,” the party said.

While acknowledging that the development was painful for supporters of the Kwankwasiyya movement, the NNPP urged Kano residents and its supporters to remain calm and avoid division.

“The truth endures, and the loyalty of Kano’s masses to principled leadership will ultimately prevail,” the statement concluded.