THE national leader of the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP), Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, has firmly denied reports suggesting that he has approved or endorsed a planned defection of Kano State Governor, Abba Kabir Yusuf, to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
News Point Nigeria reports that Kwankwaso’s denial follows a wave of speculation in Kano political circles that the governor is preparing to dump the NNPP for the APC, a development that has heightened internal tensions within the party and fuelled claims that the former Kano governor may have softened his long-standing opposition to political defections.
On Tuesday night, reports circulated widely on social media and some online platforms claiming that Kwankwaso had reversed his position and given tacit approval for Governor Yusuf and other NNPP members to join the APC.
However, Kwankwaso’s camp swiftly dismissed the reports as false.
In a statement issued by his media aide, Saifullahi Hassan, the NNPP leader said he had not endorsed, supported, or encouraged any move by Yusuf to defect from the party, stressing that both he and the governor remain bound by the NNPP’s mandate and the will of the electorate.
According to the statement, Governor Yusuf was elected on the platform of the NNPP and remains accountable to the party and the people of Kano State who voted under its banner.
The statement described claims that Kwankwaso had approved the alleged defection as a misrepresentation of facts and an attempt to mislead the public.
“The national leader of the NNPP has not approved, endorsed or encouraged any defection by Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf or any other party member,” the statement said, adding that any narrative suggesting otherwise was false.
The NNPP’s national leadership also reacted, accusing those behind the reports of attempting to cloak a possible defection with Kwankwaso’s political influence in order to reduce potential backlash from party supporters.
The party’s National Publicity Secretary, Ladipo Johnson, said the claims were deliberately crafted to give the impression that Kwankwaso had given his blessing to a move that remains deeply controversial within the party.
Johnson urged party members contemplating a defection to do so openly rather than, in his words, “dragging Senator Kwankwaso’s name into their personal political calculations.”
Speculation over Governor Yusuf’s political future has intensified in recent weeks, amid heightened security around the Kano Government House and renewed political overtures by APC leaders, which have further fuelled rumours of an imminent realignment.
Despite the growing speculation, neither Governor Yusuf nor the leadership of the APC has publicly confirmed any plan or timeline for a defection.