The executive governor of Kano State Alhaji Abba Yusuf will formally join the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, on Monday.
Sources familiar with the governor’s defection plans told DAILY NIGERIAN that Vice President Kashim Shettima and the national chairman of the party Yitwalda Nentawe will host the governor in Abuja.
Already, the party leader in Kano, Abdullahi Ganduje, has been recalled from a Dubai trip, just as the state chairman, Abdullahi Abbas, was asked to cut short his lesser hajj trip to issue APC membership card to the governor at his Diso Ward of Gwale Local Government Area of Kano State during the week.
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The governor is also expected to hold a meeting with Mr Ganduje within the week and chart a course for the progress of the party in Kano.
President Bola Tinubu was initially reluctant to accept Mr Yusuf’s defection without his godfather, who commands cult following in Kano and some parts of the North.
“The president initially insisted that he would not accept the governor’s defection without Kwankwaso. And after efforts to persuade Kwankwaso failed, Governor Hope Uzodinma convinced the president to accept the governor’s defection,” a source said.
Acting on governor’s directive, the entire local government caucuses in the state had made a last ditch attempt to cajole him to join the APC by showing open alliance with the governor and calling on him to lead them into APC.
Mr Yusuf’s unprovoked breakup with his longtime godfather and benefactor, Rabiu Kwankwaso, has caused a backlash in the Kwankwasiyya camp, with many adherents calling out the governor and reiterating loyalty to Mr Kwankwaso.
DAILY NIGERIAN