The National Leader of the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP), Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, and the party’s National Working Committee (NWC) have described Governor Abba Yusuf’s resignation from the party as “a cold betrayal of a sacred trust.”
This is just as the state chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) expressed optimism that the governor would formally join the ruling party in the coming days.
Addressing his loyalists at his Miller Road residence in Kano, Kwankwaso declared January 23 as “World Betrayal Day.”
He said the idea of adopting the day as such was inspired by social media commentators who described the governor’s NNPP exit as a betrayal.
The NNPP leader said, “None caught my attention more than one who posted, suggesting that we declare January 23 annually as World Betrayal Day.
“Therefore, as the leader and grand patron of this movement, I hereby declare that I fully support the declaration,” he said.
Kwankwaso added that the day would henceforth be marked with special events to remind members of what transpired.
Similarly, the NNPP, in a statement signed Saturday by its National Publicity Secretary, Ladipo Johnson, described Governor Yusuf’s claim of an irredeemable crisis in the party as baseless and an afterthought.
The governor’s spokesperson, Sanusi Bature, had announced Governor Yusuf’s resignation from the NNPP in a statement issued on Friday.
Reacting, the NNPP’s spokesman said that the party received the news of the governor’s resignation with profound anguish and deep disappointment.
“We deeply regret that Governor Abba, a man entrusted by the people of Kano State on the strength of his decades of unwavering loyalty and dedicated service to the Kwankwasiyya Movement, has now chosen to betray that sacred trust. By this action, he risks returning the state to the very forces that have long opposed its progress and the aspirations of its people.
“It is noteworthy that our party, the NNPP, had recently conducted congresses for its leadership from the ward to the national convention, held on December 20, 2025, at which the governor himself was present, and INEC had supervised.
“The party had also participated and won in two supplementary elections for Bagwai/Shanono and Ghari/Tsanyawa constituency, respectively held in August 2025, about three months ago. The assertion he made of an irredeemable crisis in the party is therefore baseless and an afterthought,” NNPP explained.
NNPP added that Yusuf’s resignation was not the first time such a betrayal occurred in the political history of Kano, adding that in the early 1980s, Alhaji Abubakar Rimi defected from the People’s Redemption Party (PRP) to the Nigerian People’s Party (NPP).
According to the statement, Rimi took with him the vast majority of elected officials, including nearly all local government chairpersons and councillors, 120 out of 126 members of the Kano State House of Assembly, and most Kano representatives in the National Assembly.
“Yet, the electorate delivered a resounding verdict: In the 1983 gubernatorial election, Rimi was humiliatingly defeated by Mallam Aliyu Sabo Bakin Zuwo of the PRP, finishing second. Even more telling, of the 120 state assembly members who joined Rimi’s defection, only one was re-elected, an outcome that should serve as a sobering lesson to any politician contemplating the path of disloyalty.
“While this development is deeply disturbing and painful for all who have invested in the Kwankwasiyya vision, we urge the 1,019,602 people who cast their votes for his election, as well as the good people of Kano State and Nigeria, to remain calm, patient, and restrained. Let us not descend into acrimony or division.
“History has consistently shown that those who trade loyalty for expediency, and honour for deceit, rarely escape the judgment of the people. The truth endures, and the loyalty of Kano’s masses to principled leadership will ultimately prevail,” NNPP added.
Kano APC Reserves Membership Card No.001 for Yusuf
Meanwhile, the APC state chapter has expressed optimism that Governor Yusuf will formally join the ruling party in the coming days.
The APC State Secretary, Ibrahim Zakari Sarina, disclosed this while responding to questions on the governor’s next move.
“He is welcome. That is all we are going to say for now,” Sarina said.
Although Governor Yusuf has yet to declare for the APC officially, Sarina said the party was hopeful that he would soon align with it, stressing that its doors were fully open to him and his supporters.
“Even though he didn’t specifically declare for APC, hopefully, he will soon come to APC. Our doors are open, and we welcome him,” he said.
The APC scribe described the development as a welcome boost for the party, noting that the governor was reportedly moving with a large number of elected officials and political appointees.
He added that the party had already taken practical steps in anticipation of the governor’s defection by reserving a special electronic registration number for him.
“We have started e-registration and have reserved the 001-registration number for the governor. Yes, it is true. We reserved that number for him at his Chiranci-Diso ward,” he confirmed.
Chuks Okocha, Ahmad Sorondinki
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