“I took Abba Yusuf to the homes of Supreme Court judges after the 2019 Kano election” — Kwankwaso

Rabiu Kwankwaso, national leader of the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP), has spoken at length about his political fallout with Kano governor Abba Yusuf, saying he has never felt so betrayed in his political life.

Kwankwaso’s comments followed Yusuf’s defection from the NNPP to the All Progressives Congress (APC). The governor announced his resignation from the NNPP last Friday, citing what he described as “deepening internal crises” and “prolonged leadership disputes” within the party. On Monday, he formally joined the APC.

In a video shared by his media aide, Saifullahi Hassan, Kwankwaso addressed supporters at his residence, accusing Yusuf of handing over the party’s mandate to political opponents.

“It would have been better if it was the ADC, something new they went to,” Kwankwaso said in Hausa. “Instead, they took our mandate and handed it over to our enemies.”

The former Kano governor said Yusuf’s decision erased the sacrifices made during their years of political struggle, particularly during the contentious 2019 Kano governorship election.

Recalling the period after the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared the election inconclusive, Kwankwaso described the situation as deeply unjust.

“Injustice. In my entire life, I cannot remember where such a thing has ever happened before,” he said. “Look at the struggle we went through in 2019. Look at the election that became inconclusive. Look at the courts.”

Kwankwaso said the controversy drew concern from political leaders across the country. He recounted how Pius Anyim, a former senate president, contacted him shortly after the crisis began.

“There is an Igbo man called Pius Anyim,” he said. “When the issue started, he called me immediately. I went to his house. Before we even finished greeting, he asked me if what he was hearing was true. He held his head.”

The NNPP leader said the episode reminded him of the extraordinary steps taken in their legal battle after the election.

“I even forgot that in 2019, I took Abba Yusuf to the homes of all the Supreme Court judges,” Kwankwaso said. “We went to meet them in their villages and towns to plead our case.”

INEC declared the March 9, 2019, Kano governorship election inconclusive after determining that the margin between the two leading candidates was lower than the number of cancelled votes.

Abba Yusuf, then the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), polled 1,014,353 votes, while Abdullahi Ganduje of the APC secured 953,522 votes, leaving a margin of 26,655 votes. A total of 100,873 votes were cancelled across the state.

A supplementary election was later conducted in 28 local government areas. At the conclusion of the exercise, Ganduje was declared winner with a total of 1,033,695 votes, while Yusuf polled 1,024,713 votes.

In January 2020, the supreme court dismissed the appeal filed by Yusuf and upheld Ganduje’s victory.

Both Yusuf and Kwankwaso were members of the PDP at the time. In 2023, Yusuf won the Kano governorship election on the NNPP platform, with Kwankwaso and his Kwankwasiyya political movement playing a decisive role in his emergence as governor.