Following the defection of Governor Abba Yusuf of Kano State to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) on Monday, the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) has described the move as an act of betrayal of the party and its leader, Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso.

Speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today, the NNPP National Spokesperson, Ladipo Johnson, said the feeling went beyond the party leader to the people of Kano State when asked whether Kwankwaso felt personally betrayed by Governor Yusuf’s decision.

Johnson argued that defecting to the APC without consulting the electorate amounted to a betrayal of public trust, noting that the party had no existing political structure in the state before the election but still secured victory.

“Naturally, he [Kwankwaso] feels betrayed. But it is not just about him. The people [Kano] endured eight years of what they described as bad governance and came out in their numbers to give a mandate to the NNPP through the leadership of Kwankwaso.”

“They voted the NNPP from scratch. We had no councillor, no chairman, yet we won the state. They stood by Abba Kabir Yusuf from the tribunal to the Court of Appeal and up to the Supreme Court,” the spokesman said.

“Without consulting the people, you hand power back to those who were voted out after eight years. That is an act of betrayal, no matter how you try to sugar-coat it,” he said.

Reacting to claims that Yusuf could have become governor without Kwankwaso’s support, Johnson dismissed the narrative, saying, “It is easy to say that now. They are enjoying their five minutes.

“I am sure His Excellency, Abba Kabir Yusuf, would not stand up anywhere in the world to say that,” he said.