The internal crisis rocking the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP) deepened on Monday as Senator Rufai Sani Hanga, representing Kano Central, described the reported plan by Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf to defect to the All Progressives Congress (APC) as a grave betrayal.
Speaking in Hausa, Hanga — the only NNPP senator from Kano — warned that the people of Kano have never supported leaders who turn their backs on those who helped them rise politically.
He said individuals encouraging the governor to move to the APC do not have his best interests at heart.
“In truth, all those gathering to call on Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf to join the APC are not his friends,” Hanga said.
“Anyone who truly loves him would not ask Abba to betray the people of Kano, the North, and Nigeria, especially at a time of fuel subsidy removal and new tax reforms.”
The senator reminded the governor of his long-standing political relationship with NNPP national leader, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, stressing that Yusuf’s political journey was built under Kwankwaso’s mentorship.
“Anyone who loves Abba would not ask him to be ungrateful to Kwankwaso,” he said.
“He mentored him from when he ‘had no teeth’ until he became what he is today. Is he so desperate for a position that he would allow everyone to perish?”
Hanga warned that any defection to the APC would be poorly received by Kano voters, whom he described as people who value loyalty and consistency.
He also dismissed claims that Kwankwaso might secretly support such a move, describing the reports as mere “theatre.”
“In Kano, we don’t cheer for betrayal; we pity the betrayed. You cannot betray someone and impress the people of Kano,” he said.
“If I see Abba, I will advise him to punish everyone seeking for him to betray Kwankwaso.”
Reaffirming his own political stance, the senator declared unwavering loyalty to the NNPP leader.
“I am with Kwankwaso 1,000 per cent, until death. No elected official would be as foolish right now as those planning to join the APC,” he added.
Hanga’s warning comes just hours after the NNPP chairman in Kano State, Hashim Dungurawa, publicly appealed to Governor Yusuf to remain in the party, admitting that internal divisions have made it increasingly difficult to keep the NNPP united in the state.
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