Defection: Tinubu orders suspension of APC e-registration in Kano — Doguwa

President Bola Tinubu has directed the All Progressives Congress (APC) to suspend the planned commencement of its electronic registration exercise in Kano State.

The directive was disclosed by a member of the House of Representatives, Alhassan Ado Doguwa, in a 27-second video that circulated widely on social media on Saturday.

According to Doguwa, the decision was taken by the national leadership of the APC following the President’s instruction.

“The leadership of the APC at the national level, acting on the directive of President Bola Tinubu, has ordered that the commencement of the APC e-registration in Kano be stopped,” Doguwa said in the video.

Doguwa, who represents the Doguwa/Tudun Wada Federal Constituency, is a senior APC figure in Kano and currently chairs the House Committees on Petroleum Resources (Upstream) and Oil Theft/Losses in the 10th National Assembly.

The suspension comes barely a week after the Kano State APC Publicity Secretary, Ahmed Aruwa, announced that the party was ready to flag off the e-registration exercise.

Aruwa had said the APC was expecting former Kano State Governor and national party leader, Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, to be present for the official launch.

“We are fully prepared for the commencement of the e-registration, and we are expecting our leader, Dr Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, to be in Kano for the official flag-off,” Aruwa had said, describing the exercise as part of efforts to strengthen the party and expand its membership base.

Explaining the sudden pause, Doguwa suggested that the move was connected to ongoing political developments involving Kano State Governor, Abba Kabir Yusuf.

“What will you do if Tinubu says he has accepted Abba? Today, he accepted him,” Doguwa said, adding that the APC leadership decided to halt the registration exercise pending Yusuf’s official defection, which he claimed would make the governor the first to collect a membership card.

Although the APC has not issued an official statement on the suspension, the development has heightened speculation over a possible defection of Governor Yusuf from the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) to the APC.

For weeks, Kano’s political landscape has been dominated by rumours of high-level consultations involving the governor, senior APC leaders and key political stakeholders in both Abuja and Kano, amid claims that Yusuf may be considering a switch ahead of the 2027 general elections.

While the Kano State Government and NNPP leadership have remained silent on the reports, political observers believe the halt in the APC registration exercise may be linked to ongoing negotiations aimed at managing internal party dynamics in the state.

The development has further intensified political intrigue in Kano, a strategic state whose political alignment is expected to play a major role in shaping national politics ahead of 2027.