The Kano State House of Assembly has openly endorsed the planned defection of Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf from the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP), warning that the party’s deepening leadership crisis and multiple court cases could endanger his mandate.
The lawmakers said remaining on the NNPP platform had become a political risk not only for the governor but also for other elected officials in the state.
Addressing journalists on Wednesday, the Majority Leader of the House, Lawan Hussaini, said the Assembly was convinced that the unresolved internal disputes within the NNPP could trigger a judicial crisis similar to what occurred in Zamfara State in 2019.
Hussaini said the party was currently enmeshed in factional leadership battles and several court cases, creating uncertainty over the legitimacy of its structure and nominations ahead of future elections.
According to him, there was already a subsisting court judgement recognising a particular faction of the NNPP, a development he said posed serious legal dangers.
“There is an existing court judgement that recognises a particular faction of the NNPP,” Hussaini said. “We cannot continue to remain in the party and risk a repeat of the legal disaster that happened in Zamfara State.”
He explained that the Assembly’s position informed growing calls urging Yusuf and the leader of the Kwankwasiyya movement, Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, to consider leaving the NNPP for what he described as a more politically stable platform, including the All Progressives Congress.
Lawmakers Consult Yusuf, Kwankwaso
Naijaonpoint reports that the Majority Leader disclosed that members of the House were already consulting with both the governor and Kwankwaso to ensure a consensus decision on what he called a “strategic and timely” exit from the party.
Hussaini warned that if the leadership crisis and factional court cases persisted, the judiciary could rule that NNPP candidates were not validly nominated, even if they won elections.
Such a verdict, he said, could result in the removal of Yusuf and other NNPP office holders by the courts.
Drawing parallels with Zamfara State, Hussaini recalled that in the 2019 general elections, the APC won almost all elective positions in the state, including the governorship and state assembly seats.
However, internal factional disputes prevented the conduct of valid primaries. Days before the inauguration, the Supreme Court ruled that the APC had no valid candidates, declared the votes cast for the party wasted and ordered that candidates with the next highest votes who met constitutional requirements be declared winners.
The judgement handed the governorship to the Peoples Democratic Party candidate, Bello Matawalle, while the PDP also secured almost all legislative seats despite losing at the polls.
Meanwhile, Kwankwaso has issued a stern warning to members of the Kwankwasiyya movement who have defected or are planning to leave, insisting they must account for the support and labour invested in them before crossing over.
Speaking to supporters amid ongoing political realignments in Kano, the former governor said political defections rarely occurred without incentives.
“For someone to abandon his house and go elsewhere, it does not just happen without reason. These people, no doubt, have collected ‘goods’,” Kwankwaso said.
“If they are done collecting, let them remember what was done for them in the past and come and pay us what is due to us for our labour before they cross the fence.”
He cautioned youths and supporters against being carried away by short-term gains or perceived political victories, noting that many who defected in the past later regretted their actions.
“Those who lost their way in the past, if you look back, where are they today?” he asked. “Many of those flaunting things today do not sleep well. It is painful to sit alone and say to yourself, ‘If I had known, I would not have done some of the things I did.’”
Kwankwaso added that betrayal leaves lasting consequences beyond politics, warning that it often follows individuals throughout their lives.
“The word ‘betrayer’ follows a person; him, his family and even his lineage,” he said.
NNPP Rejects Court Order On Kano Executives
In a related development, the national leadership of the NNPP loyal to Kwankwaso has rejected an ex parte order reportedly granted by a Kano State High Court reversing the dissolution of its executive committees in the state.
In a statement issued on Thursday in Abuja, the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Ladipo Johnson, described the purported order as “a farce” and an abuse of court process.
Johnson said the NNPP National Working Committee had not been served with any court papers and therefore regarded the reported ruling as “an ordinary street rumour.”
Justice Nasiru Saminu of the Kano High Court was said to have granted an order on Tuesday restoring the party’s executives at the state, local government and ward levels, which were earlier dissolved by the NWC in line with the NNPP constitution.
However, the party insisted that even if such an order existed, it would be legally defective.
“The court lacks jurisdiction to reverse an internal decision of the party,” Johnson said, arguing that the Supreme Court had consistently held that the internal affairs of political parties were non-justiciable.
“The dissolution of Kano State executives at all levels therefore stands,” the NNPP declared.
The party further warned that if the reported injunction was confirmed, it would explore all legal options, including petitioning the National Judicial Council against any judicial officer found to have issued overreaching orders in breach of due process.