Yusuf Abba will regret leaving us – Kwankwaso

Former presidential candidate and national leader of the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP), Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, has said Kano State Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf and his allies will eventually regret dumping the party.

Kwankwaso said the governor’s defection came as a major shock, admitting that even he still struggles to come to terms with the development.

According to him, many people believe there may be a hidden arrangement behind Abba’s exit from the NNPP.

“Many people I speak with feel it is some kind of arrangement, between him and me, or between him and us. Even I sometimes find it hard to believe that what is happening is real,” Kwankwaso said.

Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf officially returned to the All Progressives Congress (APC) on Monday, January 26, 2026, after announcing his resignation from the NNPP on Friday, January 23, 2026, less than three years after winning the Kano governorship election on the party’s platform.

At the event marking his return to the APC, Abba said his decision was informed by the direction of Nigerian politics and the need to align with a political path he believes would bring development to Kano State. He also said he consulted widely with political associates and stakeholders before making the move.

However, speaking in his first media interview since the defection, Kwankwaso told the BBC that he was deeply disappointed by the governor’s action, accusing him of betraying the mandate of NNPP members and the people of Kano.

Kwankwaso said Abba “handed over the mandate of NNPP supporters and the people of Kano to the Gandujiyya political camp” without any convincing justification.

“Even when I lie down to sleep, I reflect and ask myself: what really happened? Who was at fault? Was it me? Was it the party? Were party members at fault? I still can’t find the answer,” he said.

The NNPP leader dismissed claims of an internal crisis within the party, which Abba cited as part of his reason for defecting, insisting that no political party is completely free of disagreements.

“I can assure you, to the best of my knowledge, there is no party more peaceful and stable than the NNPP. Even where issues exist, congresses and conventions are meant to resolve them,” Kwankwaso said.

Reacting to claims by some defectors that they still subscribe to the Kwankwasiyya ideology despite leaving the NNPP, Kwankwaso said political boundaries in Kano are already clear.

“Light and darkness have already been established in Kano. If you want to practice Kwankwasiyya, who said you must leave Kwankwasiyya? Stay with us and practice it where it truly belongs,” he added.