Secretary of the New Nigeria Peoples Party’s Board of Trustees, Buba Galadima, has disclosed that Governor Abba Yusuf of Kano State abandoned his political god-father, Rabiu Kwankwaso, long before he publicly announced his defection to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
Galadima said Yusuf’s decision to align with the APC and former Kano governor Abdullahi Ganduje marked a historic betrayal of the political movement that brought him to power.
According to him, the governor severed ties with Kwankwaso barely three months after assuming office.
“Three months into his tenure, he abandoned Kwankwaso but publicly, he still treated him like a king. What happens behind closed doors is different,” the NNPP chieftain said.
Galadima dismissed suggestions that Yusuf’s defection was in the interest of Kano residents, insisting it was driven solely by self-preservation.
“His own personal interest — personal, personal, personal,” he said. “Not Kano people. Not peace in Kano.”
He maintained that the defection would have been viewed differently if Yusuf had joined another party.
“Had Governor Yusuf moved from NNPP to another platform other than APC, I could have said he moved well, but in this case, it is only a matter of survival,” Galadima said.
He described the move as emotionally painful for the NNPP leadership, recounting the sacrifices made to secure Yusuf’s victory.
“There is nothing under the sun we did not do for Abba Kabir Yusuf to prevail. For three days, Kwankwaso and I did not sleep. We travelled, we struggled, we put everything on the line,” he disclosed.
Galadima also credited former President Muhammadu Buhari and the courts for Yusuf’s eventual emergence as governor after protracted legal battles.
“The man who took our victory in 2019 and gave it to Ganduje later stood firm and said, ‘This boy won his election. Give him his victory,’” he said.
He accused Yusuf of abandoning the principles that sustained him politically, claiming fear of future electoral loss drove his defection.
“He believed that even if he won again, APC would still take it, so why not join them?” Galadima said.
Rejecting claims that Yusuf had freed himself from Kwankwaso’s influence, Galadima argued the governor was merely a beneficiary of the party.
“I don’t think he was ever NNPP,” he said. “He was only a beneficiary of the NNPP.”
He further claimed Yusuf had lost grassroots support, insisting the NNPP deliberately stayed silent until the governor announced his defection.
“Today, we have the sympathy of the people of Kano,” Galadima said, adding that the party would survive despite losing its only governor.
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