The New Nigeria Peoples Party has expressed profound disappointment over Governor Abba Yusuf’s resignation, describing it as a betrayal of the people of Kano State and a setback to the Kwankwasiyya Movement he once championed.
In a statement on Friday, NNPP National Publicity Secretary, Oladipo Johnson, said that history proves those who sacrifice loyalty for convenience, and integrity for deceit, seldom escape the judgment of the people.
Despite having the backing of former Kano State Governor and Kwankwasiyya Movement leader, Rabiu Kwankwaso, Yusuf announced his resignation from the NNPP after weeks of speculation and political tension in the state.
While he has not officially disclosed his next political move, recent meetings have led many to believe he is likely joining the All Progressives Congress.
In response, the NNPP said it received the news with deep sorrow and disappointment, warning that by taking this step, he risks handing the state back to the very forces that have historically opposed its development and the aspirations of its people.
The party stated, “We deeply regret that Governor Abba, a man entrusted by the people of Kano State on the strength of his decades of unwavering loyalty and dedicated service to the Kwankwasiyya Movement, has now chosen to betray that sacred trust. By this action, he risks returning the state to the very forces that have long opposed its progress and the aspirations of its people.
“It is noteworthy that our party, the NNPP, had recently conducted congresses for its leadership from the ward to the national convention, held on 20th December 2025, which the governor himself was present at, and INEC had supervised. The party had also participated in and won two supplementary elections for Bagwai/Shanono and Ghari/Tsanyawa constituencies, respectively held in August 2025, about three months ago. The assertion he made of an irredeemable crisis in the party is therefore baseless and an afterthought.
“This is not the first time such a betrayal has occurred in the political history of Kano. In the early 1980s, Alhaji Abubakar Rimi defected from the People’s Redemption Party to the Nigerian People’s Party, taking with him the vast majority of elected officials—including nearly all local government chairmen and councillors, 120 out of 126 members of the Kano State House of Assembly, and most Kano representatives in the National Assembly.
“Yet, the electorate delivered a resounding verdict: In the 1983 gubernatorial election, Rimi was humiliatingly defeated by Mallam Aliyu Sabo Bakin Zuwo of the PRP, finishing second. Even more telling, of the 120 state assembly members who joined Rimi’s defection, only one was re-elected—an outcome that should serve as a sobering lesson to any politician contemplating the path of disloyalty.”
The party called on its members and the people of Kano State to remain calm and avoid discord, emphasizing that the loyalty of Kano’s citizens to principled leadership will ultimately triumph.
It continued, “While this development is deeply disturbing and painful for all who have invested in the Kwankwasiyya vision, we urge the 1,019,602 people who cast their votes for his election, as well as the good people of Kano State and Nigeria, to remain calm, patient, and restrained. Let us not descend into acrimony or division.
“History has consistently shown that those who trade loyalty for expediency, and honour for deceit, rarely escape the judgment of the people. The truth endures, and the loyalty of Kano’s masses to principled leadership will ultimately prevail.”