There was heavy security presence in and around the Kano State Government House on Sunday as tension heightened over the planned defection of Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
According to Daily Trust, the unusual deployment of security personnel followed growing backlash against the governor’s planned move, particularly from supporters of the Kwankwasiyya movement.
Security sources said the massive deployment was aimed at preventing a possible breakdown of law and order in the state.
“It’s obvious that this decision has provoked many supporters of the governor and the Kwankwasiyya movement. The governor is not finding it easy,” a security source disclosed.
All access points to the Government House were fortified, with heavily armed and stern-looking security operatives stationed around the premises.
Governor Yusuf had concluded plans to announce his defection to the APC on Monday. However, the move was later postponed following intense backlash from residents, political stakeholders, and party loyalists across the state.
Sources said ...ponement was intended to allow for further consultations with APC leaders and to persuade more members of the National Assembly and the Kano State House of Assembly to align with the defection.
The development comes as the national leader of the Kwankwasiyya Movement and the governor’s political godfather, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, openly distanced himself from the defection plan.
Addressing supporters at his Miller Road residence in Kano on Saturday, Kwankwaso described the planned defection as a betrayal of the mandate given to the governor by the masses who voted him into office on the platform of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP).
He also described as absurd calls by some elected chairmen and political appointees urging the governor to lead them into the APC.
Meanwhile, supporters of the Kwankwasiyya movement have intensified mobilisation and strategising in anticipation of the governor’s possible exit from the movement.
A popular Hausa phrase, “A ci dadi lafiya” – loosely translated as “enjoy the good life in peace” – has been adopted by Kwankwasiyya loyalists to taunt the governor and his supporters amid the unfolding political drama.