ENUGU, NIGERIA (VOICE OF NAIJA)- The national leader of the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP), Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, has alleged that public office holders and political appointees serving under the administration of Kano State Governor, Abba Yusuf, are being coerced to endorse the governor’s planned defection to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
Kwankwaso, a former two-term governor of Kano State, made the allegation in a short video message shared on Facebook by his aide, Saifullahi Hassan.
According to him, affected individuals include members of the Kano State House of Assembly, local government chairmen, councillors, secretaries, and other political appointees, who he said were compelled to choose between allegiance to the Kwankwasiyya political movement and the Gandujiyya bloc associated with the APC.
Kwankwaso disclosed that he had received numerous phone calls from those affected, many of whom, he said, were distressed by the pressure they were facing since the political crisis erupted in the state.
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He added that, in order to ease the burden on them, he had advised those under pressure to comply with the government’s directive.
“Today, January 13, 2026, I returned to town and received some good news and some unpleasant ones,” Kwankwaso said.
“One of the most disturbing is the decision by the government that chairmen, councillors, secretaries and other political appointees must decide whether they belong to Kwankwasiyya or Gandujiyya. This is very unpleasant.”
He said the crisis began following speculations that governor Yusuf intended to defect from the NNPP to the APC under the leadership of President Bola Tinubu and former Kano governor, Abdullahi Umar Ganduje.
“Since this crisis started over plans to move to the APC under Bola Tinubu and Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, several chairmen have called me. Some councillors, political appointees and state lawmakers who could reach me have spoken about their predicament,” he said.
Kwankwaso claimed that the pressure had taken a toll on the health of some of the affected individuals.
“Some have had sleepless nights, while others were placed on drip in hospitals,” he added.
The NNPP leader said he consulted widely before advising those compelled to append their signatures in support of the defection to go ahead, describing the move as necessary to reduce the hardship they were facing.
“We thought that those who were compelled to append their signatures should go ahead and do so. This will ease the pressure they are under,” he said.
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Kwankwaso, however, maintained that the political struggle ahead remained far from over.
“We know the battle for 2027 is still ahead. We know our supporters are there; they know themselves and we know them,” he stated.
He also expressed appreciation to party supporters, caucus members and other stakeholders who, he said, were pressured and enticed with promises to abandon the NNPP.
Kwankwaso further thanked governor Yusuf, noting that the governor had, two days earlier, publicly commended the achievements of the previous NNPP administration while criticising earlier governments for abandoning key projects.
The crisis, it would be recalled, erupted following reports that Governor Yusuf was planning to defect from the NNPP to the APC, a move said to be against the wishes of his political mentor, Kwankwaso.