Kano State Governor, Abba Yusuf, on Monday met with President Bola Tinubu at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, amid mounting speculation over his possible defection to the All-Progressives Congress.
The governor was sighted at the Villa at about 4:13pm, dressed in his trademark white babanriga and red Kwankwasiyya cap, as he made his way to the President’s office.
The visit is Yusuf’s first known meeting with Tinubu since the President returned from Abu Dhabi, where he attended the 2026 Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week.
Yusuf’s appearance at Aso Rock comes against the backdrop of prolonged negotiations over a proposed defection from the New Nigeria Peoples Party to the ruling APC, a move that has reportedly stalled since early January.
Sources familiar with the talks told The PUNCH that the defection was delayed after the APC leadership rejected Yusuf’s demand for a written assurance of an automatic governorship ticket ahead of the 2027 elections.
The governor is also said to be seeking 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 placed Yusuf on a collision course with key APC figures in Kano, including Deputy Senate President Barau Jibrin, who is believed to be nursing governorship ambitions for 2027.
A video shared on Yusuf’s official Facebook page last week showed him presiding over the first Kano State Executive Council meeting of 2026 at the governor’s lodge in Abuja.
Meanwhile, Yusuf’s political mentor and NNPP national leader, Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, has publicly warned the governor against defecting, describing the move as a betrayal and cautioning that it would attract political consequences in 2027.
The NNPP leader’s son, Mustapha Kwankwaso, alongside other cabinet members loyal to Kwankwaso, has reportedly vowed to resign if Yusuf formally joins the APC.
In a separate development, an APC chieftain in Kano, Alhassan Ado Doguwa, claimed in a viral video that President Tinubu had directed the suspension of the party’s ongoing e-registration exercise in the state pending Yusuf’s defection.
According to Doguwa, the President wants the governor to be the first to officially register as an APC member in Kano.
Earlier this month, Tinubu had praised Yusuf in a birthday message marking his 63rd birthday, commending his infrastructural drive and grassroots-focused governance.
Governor Yusuf’s leadership experience and commitment to urban renewal and education reforms reflect a dedication to improving the lives of ordinary Kano citizens, the President said.
Tinubu also lauded improvements in education outcomes in the state, citing better performance by Kano students in recent NECO examinations.
