Kano APC Begins Membership Drive as Gov Yusuf’s Defection Faces Hold-Up

Amidst mounting uncertainty surrounding Governor Abba Yusuf’s defection, the All Progressives Congress (APC) Kano State branch has started its online membership registration process. Yusuf has repeatedly delayed the date of his anticipated move to the ruling party.

The state’s APC leaders had previously scheduled the e-membership registration to begin on January 15. However, the governor reportedly requested that the exercise be put on hold indefinitely.

According to a source with knowledge of the situation who spoke to Daily Nigerian, Yusuf informed Vice President Kashim Shettima about the situation when he realized the Kano APC was getting ready to move forward with the registration.

The source claims that the vice president then ordered Yilwatda Nentawe, the national chairman of the party, and Abdullahi Ganduje, the former governor of Kano, to wait until the governor formally defected before initiating the exercise.

At first, the APC anticipated that Yusuf would defect on January 5, which was also his birthday. However, because many state APC leaders were either on vacation or participating in the Umrah pilgrimage, the date was suddenly changed to January 12.

As January 12 drew near, the announcement was once more rescheduled until January 16, to be made soon after an Executive Council meeting in Abuja that was off-site and covered by the media.

However, following the council meeting, the expected proclamation did not materialize, disappointing party officials.

The governor allegedly scheduled January 20, one day after his meeting with President Bola Tinubu, in response to the postponement of January 16.

However, as the date drew near, a senior party official—who wished to remain anonymous—said the governor requested “more time in order to widen consultations” from the party leadership.

Following a covert meeting between Yusuf and his political godfather, Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso, at the latter’s Miller Road home in Kano, there was ambiguity about the governor’s defection.

According to sources, the purpose of the meeting was to defuse the tension and criticism surrounding Yusuf’s alleged intention to leave Kwankwaso and join the APC.

Insiders claim that the governor promised Kwankwaso that no action would be taken until he saw President Tinubu in France and communicated Kwankwaso’s “terms and conditions” for joining the APC.

Yusuf finally met Tinubu on Tuesday in the Presidential Villa in Abuja, following failed attempts to meet the president in Paris and Abu Dhabi last week.

According to sources, Tinubu was supposed to welcome Kwankwaso the day following Yusuf’s visit, but the meeting was allegedly placed “on hold.”

The Kano APC had previously established an e-membership registration committee, co-chaired by Rabiu Suleiman-Bichi, Managing Director of the Hadejia-Jama’are River Basin Authority, and Baffa Babba-Dan’agundi, Director-General of the National Productivity Center, despite the ongoing uncertainty.

Registration has officially started throughout the state, despite reports that a “001 membership card” was set aside for Governor Yusuf in his Diso Ward in Gwale Local Government Area.