Kano State Governor Abba Yusuf meets President Bola Tinubu at the Presidential Villa amid renewed speculation over a possible defection to the APC
Kano State Governor Abba Yusuf on Monday arrived at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, for a meeting with President Bola Tinubu amid growing speculation over his planned defection from the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
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The governor, dressed in his trademark white babanriga and red Kwankwasiyya cap, was sighted entering the President’s office at exactly 4:13pm, according to a correspondent at the Villa.
This marks Yusuf’s first known meeting with President Tinubu since the latter returned from Abu Dhabi, where he attended the 2026 Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week.
The visit comes against the backdrop of prolonged negotiations over Yusuf’s proposed switch to the APC, which has reportedly stalled since early January.
Sources previously told The PUNCH that the defection was delayed after the APC leadership declined the governor’s request for a written guarantee of an automatic governorship ticket for the 2027 elections.
Yusuf is also said to be demanding the right to nominate a minister to represent Kano State in the Federal Executive Council, as well as the authority to replace federal appointees from the state with his loyalists.
These demands have reportedly put the governor at odds with influential figures within the APC, including Deputy Senate President Barau Jibrin, who is widely believed to be nursing governorship ambitions for 2027.
Yusuf’s political benefactor and NNPP national leader, Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, has publicly condemned the planned defection, describing it as a betrayal and warning that the governor would face political consequences if he proceeds.
Reports indicate that Kwankwaso’s son, Hon. Mustapha Kwankwaso, alongside other cabinet members loyal to the former Kano governor, have vowed to resign should Yusuf officially join the APC.
Meanwhile, an APC chieftain in Kano State, Alhassan Ado Doguwa, recently claimed in a viral video that President Tinubu directed the suspension of the APC’s e-registration exercise in Kano pending Yusuf’s formal entry into the party.
According to Doguwa, the President wants Yusuf to be the first to register in the state.
Earlier this month, President Tinubu praised Governor Yusuf in a statement marking his 63rd birthday, commending his infrastructural achievements, urban renewal projects, and reforms in the education sector.
He described Kano as “the bastion of progressive politics in the North,” noting that Yusuf’s administration reflects a commitment to grassroots development.
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As of press time, details of the outcome of Monday’s meeting had not been disclosed.
