Shekarau: Gov Yusuf can join APC, Kwankwaso also defected multiple times

Former Kano State Governor and Minister of Education, Malam Ibrahim Shekarau, has defended the possibility of Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf defecting from the New Nigerian Peoples Party (NNPP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC), describing political realignment as a normal feature of Nigerian politics.

Speaking in an interview with DCL Hausa on Tuesday, Shekarau rejected claims that such a move would constitute betrayal of Dr. Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, founder of the Kwankwasiyya movement.

He argued that Kwankwaso himself had defected multiple times, including a move from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to APC in 2013 while still holding the governorship seat.

“I listened to some of my brother Kwankwaso’s remarks.

“To me, he has either forgotten or thinks people have forgotten that he moved from PDP to APC while in office without relinquishing his mandate.

“If such actions are now seen as offensive, the precedent was already set by him,” Shekarau said.

Shekarau also revisited the events surrounding the formation of the NNPP, highlighting disagreements over power-sharing arrangements that led to his departure from the party.

He revealed that a committee chaired by Governor Yusuf failed to deliver on agreed arrangements, leaving him and his supporters dissatisfied.

“I rejected the arrangement because I could not take a senatorial ticket alone while my people got nothing,” he said.

The former governor concluded that political decisions, including defection, should not automatically be framed as betrayal, especially when leaders act with consultation and in the interest of their followers.

“If Abba has his reasons and those around him agree, I don’t see any betrayal here,” Shekarau said, noting that Kwankwaso himself had defected multiple times between PDP, APC, and NNPP.