The New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) has described Kano State Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf’s defection to the All Progressives Congress (APC) as a decision driven purely by personal political survival, warning that the move represents a deep rupture within Kano politics ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Speaking in an interview with ARISE NEWS on Tuesday, the Secretary of the NNPP Board of Trustees, Engineer Buba Galadima, said the governor’s alignment with former Kano governor Abdullahi Ganduje, a long-time rival of NNPP leader Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, amounted to a betrayal of the political movement that brought him to power.
“His own personal interest — personal, personal, personal,” Galadima said when asked whether the defection served the people of Kano.
“Not Kano people. Not peace in Kano. He wanted us to swallow it, but we can neither take any of the above.”
Galadima argued that Yusuf’s decision would have been viewed differently had he defected to another party.
“Had Governor Yusuf moved from NNPP to another platform other than APC, I could have said he moved well,” he said.
“But in this case, it is only a matter of survival.”
Describing the move as historic betrayal, Galadima said the NNPP leadership was deeply hurt.
“If I could shed tears over anything, this touched me beyond expression,” he said.
“I don’t give in to sentiment easily, but this cut deep.”
He recounted the efforts made to secure Yusuf’s emergence as governor.
“There is nothing under the sun we did not do for Abba Kabir Yusuf to prevail — and he did prevail,”Galadima said.
“For three days, Kwankwaso and I did not sleep. We travelled, we struggled, we put everything on the line.”
Galadima also claimed that former President Muhammadu Buhari played a decisive role in Yusuf’s eventual victory after years of legal battles.
“The man who took our victory in 2019 and gave it to Ganduje later stood firm and said, ‘This boy won his election. Give him his victory,’” he said.
“Abba Kabir Yusuf was made governor through the courts and through Buhari. God was at work.”
He accused Yusuf of abandoning the political principles that sustained him.
“He left what he trusted before and put his faith in human beings,” Galadima said.
“He believed that even if he won again, APC would still take it, so why not join them?”
Responding to claims that Yusuf had freed himself from Kwankwaso’s influence, Galadima dismissed the argument.
“Three months into his tenure, he abandoned Kwankwaso,” he said.
“But publicly, he still treated him like a king. What happens behind closed doors is different.”
Galadima claimed the NNPP deliberately remained silent until Yusuf announced his exit himself.
“We decided to keep quiet so that he would use his own mouth to say he was leaving us,” he said.
“Today, we have the sympathy of the people of Kano.”
He asserted that Yusuf had lost grassroots support.
“If today there is a free and fair election, Abba Kabir Yusuf cannot get five per cent of the votes of Kano people,” Galadima said.
On the symbolic significance of Yusuf appearing alongside Ganduje, Galadima said it was deeply painful.
“All of them — Ganduje, Bado Jibril, others — were products of Kwankwaso’s political school,” he said.
“Seeing them raise Abba’s hand is bitter.”
He argued that resentment toward Kwankwaso’s popularity was behind the defection.
“They felt Kwankwaso was too accepted by the ordinary people,” Galadima said.
“They thought they could destroy him. They cannot.”
Galadima also suggested Yusuf’s declaration about ending “blind loyalty” was not directed at Kwankwaso.
“That message was not for Kwankwaso,” he said.
“It was for his new masters — Tinubu and Ganduje — to say he will not show blind loyalty to them either.”
On whether Yusuf was ever committed to the NNPP, Galadima was blunt.
“I don’t think he was ever NNPP,” he said.
“He was only a beneficiary of the NNPP.”
He alleged that Yusuf had already aligned with APC interests while still in office under NNPP.
“He was not working for NNPP. He was working for APC,” Galadima said.
Despite losing its only governor, Galadima insisted the NNPP would survive.
“Before him, we had nobody — no councillor, no legislator, no governor,” he said.
“What stopped God from doing that miracle once cannot stop Him again.”
Turning to national politics, Galadima claimed President Bola Tinubu was consolidating power ahead of 2027.
“If Tinubu has performed well, why does he need everybody to join his party?” he asked.
“Why is he encouraging betrayal?”
He alleged state coercion against opposition figures.
“By using the EFCC, the ICPC and coercing the judiciary,” Galadima said.
Warning against electoral manipulation, he said Nigeria had changed.
“Nobody can afford to rig the 2027 elections,” he said.
“Nigeria is no longer the Nigeria of yesterday. The people will not accept it.”
As the interview ended, Galadima expressed frustration over time constraints.
“Next time, if you don’t have sufficient time for me, don’t call me,” he said.
Boluwatife Enome
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