THE Kano State House of Assembly has publicly thrown its weight behind the planned defection of Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf from the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP), citing deepening leadership crises and multiple court cases that lawmakers say could jeopardise his mandate and that of other elected officials in the state.
News Point Nigeria reports that addressing journalists in Kano on Wednesday, the Majority Leader of the House, Lawan Hussaini, said remaining in the NNPP had become increasingly risky due to unresolved factional disputes and litigations threatening the party’s legal standing.
According to Hussaini, the internal crisis within the NNPP has created uncertainty over the legitimacy of its leadership structure and the validity of nominations conducted under the party’s platform.
“There is an existing court judgement that recognises a particular faction of the NNPP,” Hussaini said. “We cannot continue to remain in the party and risk a repeat of the legal disaster that happened in Zamfara State.”
He explained that the Assembly’s position was informed by fears that courts could eventually rule that NNPP candidates were not validly nominated, even if they won elections.
Such a scenario, he warned, could lead to the removal of Governor Yusuf and other NNPP office holders through judicial pronouncements.
The Majority Leader disclosed that members of the House were engaged in consultations with Governor Yusuf and the leader of the Kwankwasiyya movement, Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, urging them to jointly consider a “strategic and timely” exit from the NNPP to a more politically stable platform.
He said the All Progressives Congress (APC) was among the options being considered, although no final decision had been taken.
Hussaini drew parallels with the political crisis in Zamfara State following the 2019 general elections, where the APC won the governorship and nearly all legislative seats but lost them through court rulings due to its failure to conduct valid party primaries.
In that landmark judgement, the Supreme Court held that the APC had no valid candidates in Zamfara, declared all votes cast for the party wasted and ordered that candidates with the next highest lawful votes be declared winners.
The ruling handed the governorship to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Bello Matawalle, and saw the PDP assume control of most legislative seats despite losing at the polls.
Meanwhile, the political realignment in Kano has drawn a sharp reaction from Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, a former governor of the state and national leader of the Kwankwasiyya movement.
Speaking to supporters amid the wave of defections and speculations, Kwankwaso issued a stern warning to members who have defected or are planning to defect, insisting they must account for the support and political labour invested in them by the movement.
“For someone to abandon his house and go elsewhere, it does not just happen without reason,” Kwankwaso said. “These people, no doubt, have collected ‘goods’.”
He added, “If they are done collecting, let them remember what was done for them in the past and come and pay us what is due to us for our labour before they cross the fence.”
Kwankwaso cautioned youths and loyalists against being swayed by short-term gains or the illusion of political victory, noting that many who defected in the past later regretted their decisions.
“Those who lost their way in the past, if you look back, where are they today?” he asked. “Many of those flaunting things today do not sleep well.”
He warned that betrayal carries long-lasting consequences beyond politics, insisting it leaves a permanent stain on individuals and their families.
“The word ‘betrayer’ follows a person — him, his family and even his lineage,” Kwankwaso said.
In a related development, the NNPP national leadership loyal to Kwankwaso has rejected an ex parte order reportedly granted by a Kano State High Court, which reversed the dissolution of the party’s executive committees in the state.
In a statement issued on Thursday in Abuja, the NNPP National Publicity Secretary, Ladipo Johnson, described the reported court order as “a farce” and an abuse of judicial process.
Johnson said the party’s National Working Committee (NWC) was never served with any court papers and therefore regarded the ruling as “an ordinary street rumour.”
Justice Nasiru Saminu of the Kano High Court had reportedly granted an interim order restoring the party’s executives at state, local government and ward levels, which were earlier dissolved by the NWC in accordance with the NNPP constitution.
However, the party insisted that even if such an order existed, it would be legally defective.
“It is improper for a court to issue an interim injunction against a decision that has already been completed,” Johnson said, arguing that the Supreme Court has consistently ruled that the internal affairs of political parties are non-justiciable.
“The dissolution of Kano State executives at all levels therefore stands,” the party declared.
The NNPP also warned that it would explore legal remedies, including petitioning the National Judicial Council (NJC), if any judicial officer was found to have issued orders in breach of due process.