*Cites Internal Crises, Leadership Disputes
*I’m Not For Sale, Says Kwankwaso
*NNPP: It’s Betrayal Of Trust, Reject Reasons
AFTER months of speculation and scheming, Kano State Governor, Abba Yusuf, on Friday, January 23, finally dumped the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP), saying it was in “the best interest of the people” of the state.
Apart from the governor, eight members of the House of Representatives, 21 members of the state House of Assembly and 44 Local Government Chairmen also resigned membership of the NNPP.
They are expected to joined the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the coming days, following the greenlight he must have received during his recent meeting/visit to President Bola Tinubu in Abuja.
The governor’s spokesman, Sunusi Bature, who announced the decision in a statement in Kano, stated that Yusuf had communicated his resignation in a January 23 letter to the NNPP chairman in Diso-Chiranchi Ward, Gwale Local Council.
Bature quoted his principal as saying: “I write with a deep sense of gratitude to formally notify the leadership of the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP) of my decision to resign my membership of the party, with effect from Friday, 23rd January 2026.
“I remain sincerely appreciative of the opportunity given to me by the party, its leadership and members across Kano State to be part of its political journey since 2022, as well as the support, goodwill and cooperation extended to me during my time in the party.
“After careful reflection, and without prejudice to the party’s capacity to resolve its internal challenges, I have come to the conclusion that my resignation is in the best interest of the people of Kano State.
“In recent times, the party has been confronted with persistent internal challenges arising from leadership disagreements and ongoing legal processes, many of which are presently before the courts for judicial determination.
“The growing disenfranchisement among party members has created deep divisions within the party structure, resulting in cracks that appear increasingly irreconcilable and have generated uncertainty at both state and national levels.”
Following his resignation from the party, NNPP flags hoited at the Kano Government House were immediately removed.
However, NNPP factional Chairman in the state, Mas’ud Eljibril, has asked Yusuf to formally notify the “legally recognised” NNPP in writing before joining APC, saying: “If the governor decides to leave the NNPP, it’s his choice.
“B but he has to do that according to the rules and regulations to the party. Ignoring this requirement will have future legal consequences.”
Interstingly, his Deputy, Aminu Abdulsalam; senator representing Kano Central, Rufa’i Hanga; representatives Mukhtar Yarima (Tarauni); Abdulkarim Ado (Wudil/Garko); Sani Wakili (Minjibir/Ungogo) and Tijjani Abdulkadir (Tofa/Dawakin Tofa) have opted to remain in the NNPP.
Yusuf was until recently a close ally of NNPP’s national leader and former governor, Rabiu Kwankwaso, who he served as personal assistant and commissioner before being elected as governor in 2023.
Kwankwaso, in his immediatete reaction, said he was “not for sale,” urging his supporters to begin to prepare for the 2027 elections.
The leader of the Kwankwasiyya Movement, the platform on which Yusuf rode to power in 2023, said his struggle has always been about the emancipation of ordinary Nigerians from the difficult conditions they currently face.
According to him: “I’m not for sale. Our political convictions keep me grounded. If I were in it for personal gain, I would have taken the easy route and you would be looking for me elsewhere not in this place.
“Our shared vision is what keeps me going. If I were motivated by greed, I would have taken the money and run. And you would not be here, showing your support.”
To NNPP supporters, he said: “We need people like you who have sacrificed and stood by the truth. You should not relent, as we will one day achieve our objectives.
“Going by what is happening in Kano today, we need to start preparing, because there are people who are hell-bent in destroying what we built over time.
“My mission is to always fight for the ordinary people. I would not compromise with those who exploit the masses.”
On its part, NNPP expressed disappointment over the governor’s resignation, which it described as a betrayal of the mandate given to him by voters.
The party, in a statement on Friday by its National Publicity Secretary, Ladipo Johnson, said Yusuf was elected on the strength of his long association with the Kwankwasiyya Movement and the trust of the people of the state.
It described as “baseless” and an afterthought, the governor’s claim that his exit was due to an irredeemable crisis within the party, adding: “It is with profound anguish and deep disappointment that we received the news of the resignation and defection.
“We deeply regret that Yusuf, 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.”
