How I took Abba Yusuf to S’Court judges after Kano election was declared inconclusive in 2019 – Kwankwaso
The national leader of the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP), Rabiu Kwankwaso, has said he has never felt this level of political disappointment in his career.
On Monday, Abba Yusuf, the governor of Kano State and a close ally of Kwankwaso, defected from the NNPP to the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Earlier, while announcing his resignation from the NNPP last Friday, Yusuf attributed his decision to “deepening internal crises” and “prolonged leadership disputes” within the party.
In a video shared by Saifullahi Hassan, his media aide, Kwankwaso addressed supporters at his residence, saying it would have been preferable if the governor had joined the African Democratic Congress (ADC).
The NNPP leader accused the Kano governor of handing over the party’s mandate to its political opponents.
Kwankwaso also revisited the challenges they both faced after the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared the 2019 Kano governorship election inconclusive.
“Injustice. In my entire life, I cannot remember where such a thing has ever been done before,” Kwankwaso said in Hausa.
“It would even be better if it was the ADC, something new, they (referring to Yusuf and loyalists) went to. Rather, they took it (mandate) away and handed over to enemies.
“Look at the struggle we went through in 2019, look at the election that became inconclusive, look at the courts.
“There’s an Igbo man named Pius Anyim, former senate president. When the issue started, he called me immediately and I asked for his whereabouts.
“He told me he’s in the house and I went there and met him. Before we even finished greetings, he asked me if the news he’s hearing is true or not? He held his head.
“I had forgotten that in 2019, I took him to the homes of all the supreme court judges in Nigeria to beg them. I and the governor met them in their villages and towns.”
2019 Election Saga
In 2019, INEC declared the March 9 Kano governorship election inconclusive after the margin between the two leading candidates was lower than the number of cancelled votes.
Yusuf, who contested on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), secured 1,014,353 votes, ahead of Abdullahi Ganduje of the APC, who polled 953,522 votes, leaving a margin of 26,655 votes.
A total of 100,873 votes were cancelled, prompting a supplementary election across 28 local government areas in Kano State.
Following the supplementary poll, Ganduje emerged victorious with 45,876 votes, while Kabir of the PDP received 10,239 votes.
The final tally showed Ganduje with 1,033,695 votes, while Yusuf scored 1,024,713 votes.
At the time, both Yusuf and Kwankwaso were members of the PDP.
In January 2020, the Supreme Court dismissed Yusuf’s appeal and upheld Ganduje’s election as governor.
In 2023, Yusuf was elected governor of Kano State on the platform of the NNPP, with Kwankwaso and his Kwankwasiyya movement playing a key role in his victory.