Efforts by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to forge a strategic alliance with former New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP) presidential candidate, Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, have sparked discontent among some All Progressives Congress (APC) chieftains in Kano State.
Sources within the ruling party revealed that Tinubu’s ongoing overtures to Kwankwaso are part of a broader move to consolidate northern support ahead of the 2027 general elections. However, the move is being met with stiff resistance from certain APC stakeholders, who fear that Kwankwaso’s entry into the party could destabilize the party’s structure in Kano.
According to insiders, part of the unfolding deal would see Kwankwaso defect to the APC along with Kano State Governor, Abba Kabir Yusuf. In return, the governor and some federal lawmakers from the North-West who dumped NNPP for APC are expected to receive automatic return tickets in the next election cycle.
Raising concerns after a closed-door meeting with the APC National Chairman, Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, at the party’s national secretariat in Abuja, Minister of State for Housing and Urban Development, Yusuf Bala Muhammad Ata, insisted that Kwankwaso and his political base — the Kwankwasiyya Movement — had lost their relevance in Kano.
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“Anybody who visits Kano State even today will see that there are a lot of changes. It is hardly you will find red caps in Kano. Before now, if you visit the mosque you will see many red caps but today you can visit a mosque and if 5,000 people come for prayers, you cannot see 20 red caps in Kano,” Ata said.
He stressed that the APC remained strong in Kano and capable of securing overwhelming support for President Tinubu without the involvement of Kwankwaso or his allies.
“So we are assuring the President that we are not asking for anything less. We are strongly behind our national chairman. We have been discussing with him. This is the opinion of all the Kano State APC, even to the grassroots.
“Kwankwaso is no longer relevant in Kano. He is only coming to APC, not that we invited him. Because he is going to die politically. I am assuring you and even Mr. President has all his security records from the grassroots in Kano.
“He is no more attractive. So, he is struggling to be accommodated in the APC; that may bring a lot of crisis in the APC in Kano state. This is our position,” Ata added.
When asked directly why he was opposed to Kwankwaso’s return, Ata said, “Personally, I won’t be happy. Unless it is a decision from our father (Ganduje) to accommodate him. I was in the House of Assembly in 1999 when Kwankwaso was the governor. So I know Kwankwaso very well.
“He is no more attractive in Kano. We have no deal unless the national chairman, as a leader, said we should accommodate him. No problem.”
In response, APC National Chairman, Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, signalled a more conciliatory approach, suggesting that Kwankwaso could still be welcomed into the party.
“When a fish is running out of water, that’s exactly what is happening. If the water is drying, the fish has to find its way to water. So that is what is happening. I will not say we are not ready to welcome him,” Ganduje said.
“When you see your son running to where he would get shelter and you are a big brother in a big home, I think it is morally right to accommodate him. So we cannot say we cannot accommodate him because a friend in need is a friend indeed. Somebody who has been abandoned, we should not allow him to wallow in darkness.”
As the debate over Kwankwaso’s potential defection intensifies, observers say the coming weeks will be crucial in determining whether Tinubu’s political calculations in Kano will solidify the APC or deepen internal divisions.
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