Historian and convener of the League of Northern Democrats, Dr Umar Ardo, has described Governor Abba Yusuf’s resignation from the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) and defection to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) as a major political miscalculation.
Ardo, who served as Special Assistant to former Vice President Atiku Abubakar on Local Government and State Affairs, said the governor’s decision was “a big mistake” and showed a misunderstanding of the “evolutionary history of Kano politics.”
In a statement issued on Sunday, Ardo argued that Governor Yusuf should have known that Kano politics has always aligned with opposition parties, and rarely leaned towards the ruling party.
He said, “Kano politics has always essentially aligned with opposition politics, and never purposefully leaned toward the center. The pattern of its politics since independence validates this assertion.”
Ardo recalled that during the First Republic, while the North formed the Northern People’s Congress (NPC) government, Kano overwhelmingly voted for the opposition Northern Elements Progressive Union (NEPU).
He added that in the Second Republic, while the North supported the National Party of Nigeria (NPN), Kano again backed the opposition People’s Redemption Party (PRP).
He further stated that under the present dispensation and in 1999, Kano rejected the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) and voted for the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), which he described as the perceived liberal party.
Ardo explained that when the PDP formed the national government, Kano quickly voted it out after one term in 2003 and shifted to the opposition ANPP.
He said, “Then, in 2015, along with other opposition parties, Kano joined the bandwagon and fused into the newly formed APC in opposition to the national government of the PDP.”
He noted that Kano remained in the APC for two terms, but in 2023 returned to opposition politics by voting for the NNPP.
Ardo also highlighted the legal battles that followed the 2023 election, stressing that the Kano electorate resisted attempts to move the state into the ruling party.
He said, “Even when the courts, at the tribunal and Court of Appeal levels, tried to move the state into the ruling national party, the APC, Kano electorate staunchly stood against the move and the Supreme Court, perceiving the danger fraught in the process, reversed the move in its final verdict.”
He continued, “Hence, keeping Kano politics where it has always been – predominantly in the opposition!”
Ardo warned that the governor’s defection could spell political defeat for both Governor Yusuf and the APC in the 2027 election.
He stated, “To this end, therefore, by now moving out of the opposition NNPP and joining the APC, the ruling party at the centre, Governor Yusuf, and the APC are automatically courting defeat in 2027.”
He added, “Either the APC wins the national government and loses Kano State, or it wins Kano State and loses the national election. But they cannot win both, as Kano’s election pattern over the years doesn’t support that. The trajectory is clear; now the choice is left for the APC and Governor Yusuf to make.”
