Kano State Governor, Abba Yusuf, is reportedly set for an irreversible defection from the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), according to a high-ranking state government source. This planned move comes despite a strong warning from the NNPP's national leader, Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, who insisted that Governor Yusuf must relinquish his office if he chooses to leave the party, arguing that the mandate belongs to the NNPP.

Senator Kwankwaso, a prominent figure and leader of the Kwankwasiyya Movement, publicly urged his political protégé, Governor Yusuf, to vacate the governorship position should he defect. Kwankwaso also expressed his openness to forming alliances with any political platform that would position him as either a presidential or vice-presidential candidate in upcoming elections.

However, an informed source within the Government House confirmed that Governor Yusuf's defection to the APC is beyond reversal. The governor is expected to transition with a substantial number of his political supporters from across the state. This contingent reportedly includes nine out of Kano’s thirteen members of the House of Representatives, twenty out of the twenty-seven members of the State House of Assembly, encompassing the Speaker and all principal officers, as well as forty-two of the forty-four local government chairmen.

The source further indicated that Kwankwaso's reluctance to join the APC is primarily due to his inability to secure either the presidential or vice-presidential slot within the party's hierarchy, a stance he reportedly reaffirmed recently. Regarding the internal strife within the NNPP, the same source stated that Governor Yusuf has successfully consolidated control over the party's structure in Kano State. This was achieved following the suspension of the former state chairman, Hashim Dungurawa, a decision that has since been upheld by the Kano State High Court. Consequently, the party's National Working Committee (NWC) is now considered to be in contempt of court for dissolving the Kano State executive committees at all levels, from ward to state, despite the existing court order.

Efforts to obtain an official statement from Governor Yusuf's spokesperson, Sanusi Bature, have been unsuccessful, as he has consistently declined media engagements since the onset of the crisis. Meanwhile, Kwankwaso, during an address to his supporters in Kano, reiterated that the Kwankwasiyya Movement remains open to strategic alliances, but only under conditions that guarantee him either the top or second-highest political office.

Political analysts in Kano largely interpret Governor Yusuf’s impending move not as an act of betrayal, but rather as a calculated strategic alignment with the federal government. This alignment is viewed as a necessary step to ensure his political survival and to secure enhanced benefits for the state of Kano.