Following recent defections of a gubernatorial aide and NNPP ward officials to the APC, NNPP national leader Dr. Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso held an emergency meeting with the Kano State House of Assembly Speaker and others to block Governor Abba Kabiru Yusuf's planned switch to the APC. The effort highlights deep party divisions, with the move labeled a betrayal by opponents.
On December 29, 2025, amid escalating tensions after a special aide to Governor Abba Kabiru Yusuf and an NNPP ward chairman defected to the APC two days earlier, NNPP national leader Dr. Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso summoned Rt. Hon. Jibril Ismail Falgore, Speaker of the Kano State House of Assembly, to his Miller Road residence for a four-hour closed-door meeting. Kwankwaso canceled a planned trip abroad to address the governor's defection plans. He also called federal lawmakers from NNPP platforms, including Fagge, Turauni, Nassarawa, and Rogo constituencies.
The Speaker had led Rogo stakeholders less than 24 hours prior to endorse the governor's APC move, urging Kwankwaso to back it for Kano's benefit.
Kano NNPP Chairman Hon. Hashim Dungurawa rejected the defection as a betrayal, reaffirming loyalty to Kwankwaso and warning against signing documents at Government House.
'On behalf of the NNPP in Kano State and nationally, and the Kwankwasiyya Movement, we do not approve of this. We tried to persuade them to stay, for the sake of Kano's people,' Dungurawa said, calling for unity to advance education, agriculture, and other sectors.
NNPP Deputy State Chairman Abdullahi Zubair Imam Abiya, however, urged Kwankwaso to join the APC to bolster Kwankwasiyya influence.
Lawmakers and stakeholders remain split, with consultations ongoing per an anonymous federal lawmaker. Kano Central Senator Rufai Sani Hanga pledged to stay with Kwankwaso, decrying the defection as a breach of NNPP trust.
The developments threaten NNPP's grip on Kano ahead of 2027 elections.
