The leadership of the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP), led by its national leader, Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, has condemned Governor Abba Yusuf’s decision to resign from the party, describing the move as a “cold betrayal of a sacred trust.”
At the same time, the Kano State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has expressed confidence that the governor will formally defect to the ruling party in the coming days.
Speaking to supporters at his Miller Road residence in Kano, Kwankwaso announced that January 23 would now be observed as “World Betrayal Day,” saying the idea was inspired by reactions he saw on social media following Yusuf’s exit from the NNPP.
“None caught my attention more than one who posted, suggesting that we declare January 23 annually as World Betrayal Day.
“Therefore, as the leader and grand patron of this movement, I hereby declare that I fully support the declaration,” he said.
Kwankwaso added that the date would be marked every year with special activities to remind party faithful of what transpired.
In a statement signed by the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Ladipo Johnson, the NNPP rejected Governor Yusuf’s claim that his resignation was due to an irredeemable crisis within the party, describing the assertion as baseless and an afterthought.
The governor’s spokesperson, Sanusi Bature, had earlier announced Yusuf’s resignation on Friday.
Reacting, the NNPP said it received the news with “profound anguish and deep disappointment.”
“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 December 20, 2025, at which the governor himself was present, and INEC had supervised.
“The party had also participated and won in two supplementary elections for Bagwai/Shanono and Ghari/Tsanyawa constituency, 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,” the statement said.
The party further noted that Yusuf’s defection was not unprecedented in Kano’s political history, recalling the early 1980s when Alhaji Abubakar Rimi left the People’s Redemption Party (PRP) for the Nigerian People’s Party (NPP) with a large number of elected officials.
“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.
“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,” the NNPP added.
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