Former Kano State Governor and Senator, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, has directed associates serving in Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf’s administration who are reportedly facing pressure over the governor’s planned defection to the All Progressives Congress (APC) to align with the move, in what he described as a step to ease mounting tension in the state.
Kwankwaso made the remark in a short video message shared on Facebook on Tuesday by his media aide, Saifullahi Hassan, amid reports of growing political strain between the former governor and his long-time protégé.
Governor Yusuf’s alleged plan to join the APC has reportedly widened cracks within the ruling structure in Kano, with Kwankwaso resisting calls to migrate alongside him.
In the video dated January 13, 2026, Kwankwaso said he returned to Kano and was greeted with troubling reports that council chairmen, councillors, secretaries, and other officeholders were being compelled to submit written declarations on where their loyalty lies.
He described the alleged development as unfair and capable of sparking deeper political division.
“Today, 13th January 2026, I arrived in our blessed state of Kano… especially the policy forcing council chairmen, councillors, secretaries, and other office holders to write down who they are siding with, Kwankwasiyya or Gandujiyya. This is quite unfortunate,” he said.
Attempts to obtain official reaction from the Kano State Government were unsuccessful as the Commissioner for Information, Ibrahim Waiya, did not respond to calls, while the governor’s spokesperson, Sanusi Bature, was also unreachable as of the time of reporting.
Kwankwaso, the leader of the Kwankwasiyya Movement, recalled the group’s years of political rebuilding before its return to power in 2023, crediting grassroots mobilisation for the victory that brought Yusuf’s administration to office.
He said the mission of the movement was to deliver better governance, with emphasis on education, job creation, infrastructure and welfare.
“We exercised patience and waited for 2023, when people came out with even stronger determination and voted for the present administration… with the hope of getting a better life,” he stated.
Describing Kano’s political contest in stark terms, Kwankwaso framed the current alignments as a struggle between two opposing paths, insisting the movement’s guiding principles must not be compromised.
“Our movement is such that if you are in it, you will follow its blueprint. But if you deviate, you will have to defect from it,” he said.
He also recounted the selection process that produced local government chairmen and councillors during the 2023 elections, noting that a committee he chaired handled the exercise with the involvement of key party and government figures.
According to him, anxiety has intensified among elected officials and appointees since discussions of defection to the APC gained momentum.
Kwankwaso claimed several officials had reached out to him, complaining of intimidation and emotional distress, as political pressure allegedly mounted on them to take a side.
“Many LG chairmen called me… likewise some councillors… many state assembly members intimated me about the situation… some of them having sleepless nights,” he said, adding that some were reportedly in poor health as a result of the tension.
In response, Kwankwaso said he had consulted stakeholders and decided to allow those feeling threatened — including council chairmen, councillors, and other political officeholders — to temporarily declare loyalty to the governor in order to stay safe and avoid escalation.
He described the move as a practical step to calm the atmosphere while the broader political battle ahead of 2027 remains undefined.
“We know that all the main politicking for 2027 has not even started yet. Our supporters should be on standby… I believe this will help douse tension in the state,” he stated.
Kwankwaso also used the opportunity to praise his political allies for remaining committed, despite what he described as repeated attempts to lure them away over the last three years with promises that were never honoured.
He further thanked Governor Yusuf for recently acknowledging the achievements of his administration and criticising past governance failures in the state.
Meanwhile, a Kano-based political analyst, Dr Kabiru Sufi, described Kwankwaso’s directive as a calculated long-term move aimed at preserving the strength of the Kwankwasiyya base while allowing flexibility for loyalists navigating immediate political pressure.
Sufi argued that even if more officials move with Yusuf to the APC, the public may interpret it as temporary positioning rather than a collapse of Kwankwaso’s support structure.
“It is a strategic move to create flexibility within the movement… Kwankwaso has essentially allowed his supporters the liberty to navigate pressure while still keeping the option to follow his leadership in the future,” the analyst said.