Like Gov Yusuf, 21 Kano lawmakers dump NNPP for APC

A major shake-up has hit Kano politics as 21 members of the State House of Assembly have dumped the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) for the All Progressives Congress (APC).

The lawmakers made their move on Monday, shortly after Governor Abba Yusuf formally resigned from the NNPP, following his recent visit to President Bola Tinubu at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.

In his resignation letter addressed to the chairman of the Diso-Chiranchi ward in Gwale Local Government Area, Yusuf cited “deepening internal crises” and “prolonged leadership disputes” as reasons for leaving the party.

The governor’s switch to the APC was carried out alongside the 21 state lawmakers, eight members of the House of Representatives, and all 44 local government chairmen in the state.

Prominent figures among the defectors include the Speaker of the House, Jibril Ismail Falgore, and Deputy Speaker, Muhammad Bello Butu Butu, as well as the Majority Leader, Lawan Hussain, Deputy Majority Leader, Garba Shehu Fammar, and Chief Whip, Muddasir Ibrahim Zawachiki.

Several other legislators across Kano’s constituencies were also listed among those who crossed over to the ruling party.

Reacting to the development, NNPP national leader, Rabiu Kwankwaso, described Yusuf’s defection as a betrayal and declared January 23 as “World Betrayal Day”.

Kwankwaso had played a central role in Yusuf’s emergence as governor during the 2023 elections under the Kwankwasiyya political movement.