Ex-NNPP national leaders say governor YUSUF’s defection to APC was inevitable

Monday, January 26, 2026 - Former national leaders of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) have backed the defection of Governor Abba Yusuf to the All Progressives Congress (APC) adding that his move was not an act of betrayal but foresight.

They however insisted that those who consider the governor’s move as a betrayal should remember that he (the governor) learnt from a good teacher and mentor.

The former NNPP leaders who said this are the party’s former national chairman, Professor Rufa’i Ahmed; it’s former national organizing secretary, Alkali Senator Sulaiman Othman Hunkuyi; and its former national legal adviser, Professor Bem Angwe.

The former party leaders dumped the NNPP after the last general elections.  They had served as party leaders when former Kano State governor, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso contested the 2023 presidential election on the platform of the NNPP.

Recall the Kwankwaso, the erstwhile political benefactor of Governor Yusuf, had described his defection to APC as a betrayal.

But noting that they have been vindicated by the governor’s defection, the former party leaders said the implosion of the Kano faction of the NNPP was inevitable, adding that it had been in a chaotic state in the buildup to the 2023 elections.

In a joint statement, the former leaders said those angered by the governors exit from NNPP are suffering from a crisis of denial and are mistaking noise for wisdom.

They said the move, stripped of all emotions and pretensions, was, neither sudden nor surprising but inevitable.

Stressing that the governor’s move to APC showed character and courage,  they said “For those of us who were privileged to have been witnesses to the long uncertain and often chaotic situations leading to the build up to the 2023 elections, the implosion of the Kano Faction of the NNPP was never a matter of if, but when.”

They added that the warning signs about the party’s state were visible to discerning minds, adding that “A party build more on sentiments than realities, on personalities rather than institutions, and on personal loyalty instead of legitimate organizational discipline, will hardly escape from internal crisis and conflicts.”

Stressing that the governor chose not to wait for the party’s expiry day which was near, the party leaders knocked his critics for framing his move to APC as betrayal, describing it as “the lazy language of some selfish politicians.”

They said the governor refused to be trapped by a collapsing internal disorder simply to satisfy the romantic expectations of mentors and political merchants.

“Today, the very party Abba Yusuf left is engulfed in open conflicts- court room litigations, factional declarations, and advertised confusion over party legitimacy. This is not an external conspiracy; It is the natural consequence of unresolved contradictions, demanding serious attention, but were long ignored for too long.”

They said the governor’s move was not an act of abandonment, but self-preservation and an obligation to fulfill his mandate.

“Kano State cannot afford a distracted leader held hostage to endless validation and internal quarrels,” they said, adding that the people of Kano deserve and demand good leadership that isn’t suffocating by insatiable personal selfish interests.

They commended the governor’s sense of timing, adding that he didn’t act out of fear, panic or desperation.

They said he moved while still he had leverage, clarity of mind and the much-needed momentum to drive the process to a logical conclusion.

They claimed that history was already leaning in the governor’s favor, adding that he made, arguably, the most difficult and consequential decisions of his political life.

“Governor Kabir Yusuf’s political realignment was difficult, but his choice of APC was necessary and logical. What is unfolding now confirms what some of us already knew would happen – just a question of time – and the time has come.

This was never about betrayal, it was about foresight and foresight is one of the rare hallmarks of good leadership. But if some people out of selfish interests still feel it is a betrayal, then they should be reminded that a good student must learn from his teacher, and a good mentee must learn from his mentor, or as they say in Latin: Quod Seminas, Id Metes,” they added.