‘Better He Joined ADC’ – Kwankwaso Recalls Taking Gov Yusuf To Beg Supreme Court Judges In 2019

The national leader of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, has said he has never been this politically let down, following the defection of Kano State Governor, Abba Kabir Yusuf, to the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Yusuf, a long-time ally and political protégé of Kwankwaso, officially joined the APC on Monday after resigning from the NNPP last Friday, citing “deepening internal crises” and “prolonged leadership disputes” within the party.

Reacting in a video shared by his media aide, Saifullahi Hassan, Kwankwaso addressed supporters at his residence, expressing deep disappointment over the governor’s decision.

Speaking in Hausa, the NNPP leader said it would have been preferable if Yusuf had joined the African Democratic Congress (ADC) rather than defecting to the APC.

“It would even be better if it was the ADC, something new, that they went to,” Kwankwaso said.

“Instead, they took the mandate and handed it over to enemies.”

He accused the governor of betraying the trust and sacrifice of the NNPP and its supporters in Kano State.

Recounts 2019 election struggle

Kwankwaso recalled the intense political and legal battles they fought together during the 2019 Kano governorship election, which was declared inconclusive by the Independent National Electoral Commission.

“Injustice. In my entire life, I cannot remember where such a thing has ever been done before,” he said.

“Look at the struggle we went through in 2019, look at the inconclusive election, look at the courts.”

He narrated how former Senate President, Anyim Pius Anyim, had reacted when the crisis broke out.

“There’s an Igbo man named Pius Anyim, former Senate President. When the issue started, he called me immediately,” Kwankwaso said.

“He held his head when I told him what was happening. I had forgotten that in 2019, I took him to the homes of all the Supreme Court justices in Nigeria to beg them. I and the governor met them in their villages and towns.”

Background: 2019 Kano election

In the March 9, 2019 governorship election in Kano State, INEC declared the poll inconclusive after the margin between the two leading candidates was less than the number of cancelled votes.

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

After a supplementary election in 28 local government areas, Ganduje was declared winner with 1,033,695 votes, while Yusuf polled 1,024,713 votes. The Supreme Court later upheld Ganduje’s victory in January 2020.

Both Kwankwaso and Yusuf were members of the PDP at the time.

In 2023, Yusuf returned stronger, winning the Kano governorship election on the platform of the NNPP, with Kwankwaso and the Kwankwasiyya movement playing a central role in his victory.