Hon. Abdulmumin Jibrin Kofa, the lawmaker representing Kiru/Bebeji Federal Constituency of Kano State in the House of Representatives, has once again drawn national attention — this time not for fiery statements or political manoeuvres, but for his noticeable silence.
Jibrin, a fourth-term legislator elected under the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) in 2023, has long been known for his outspoken nature and frequent political realignments. However, months after defecting to the All Progressives Congress (APC), the federal lawmaker has gone unusually low-key, raising questions within Kano’s political space: where is Kofa, and why is he silent?
The lawmaker’s recent political troubles began in September last year, when the Kano State chapter of the NNPP expelled him from the party. The party accused Jibrin of engaging in anti-party activities and failing to meet his financial obligations.
Announcing the decision at a press briefing in Kano, the NNPP chairman, Hashim Sulaiman Dungurawa, said Jibrin’s expulsion followed repeated media attacks against the party and its leadership.
Dungurawa described Jibrin as a “weak politician” whose electoral success, according to him, was solely dependent on the Kwankwasiyya movement and the NNPP platform.
“If he was truly strong politically, he would have won his election under the APC, but he failed. It was when he joined NNPP through Kwankwasiyya that he became a House of Representatives member. Now he is deceiving himself into thinking he is strong,” Dungurawa said.
Barely two months later, in November, Jibrin formally defected to the APC, declaring his full support for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s second-term ambition. He announced the move after what he described as a massive homecoming reception by thousands of supporters in his hometown of Kofa, Bebeji Local Government Area.
“Today, by the will of Allah, I received a warm reception from thousands of constituents in Kofa. They have resolved to leave the NNPP/Kwankwasiyya movement and join the APC to support President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, for a second term,” Jibrin said at the time.
Jibrin’s political journey has been marked by frequent shifts in allegiance. He first won election into the House of Representatives in 2011 with the backing of former Kano State governor Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso. He followed Kwankwaso to the APC in 2014 and retained his seat in 2015.
However, when Kwankwaso returned to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) ahead of the 2019 elections, Jibrin stayed in the APC. His subsequent fallout with then-governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje and his defeat in a rerun election weakened his political standing.
Despite this setback, he remained in the APC and was later appointed Executive Director at the Federal Housing Authority under former President Muhammadu Buhari.
In 2022, Jibrin re-emerged as a key ally of Bola Tinubu and served as Director-General of his presidential campaign before abruptly resigning and defecting to Kwankwaso’s NNPP, a move that paved the way for his return to the House in 2023.
In the months leading to his eventual defection to the APC, Jibrin had twice visited President Tinubu at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, claiming the meetings focused on issues of national development. Political analysts, however, interpreted the visits as signs of an imminent return to the ruling party.
Since officially joining the APC, Jibrin has maintained a striking silence, particularly at the constituency and state levels. His low profile has become more pronounced following the recent political realignment in Kano, where Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf reportedly registered as an APC member alongside 22 members of the State House of Assembly, eight House of Representatives members and all 44 local government chairmen.
Unlike previous moments of political transition, when Jibrin dominated headlines with strong opinions and public engagements, his absence from major political activities has fuelled speculation about his current standing within the APC and his next political move.
For a politician known for being vocal and controversial, Abdulmumin Jibrin Kofa’s silence has become the loudest statement yet — leaving supporters and critics alike asking the same question: where is Kofa, and why has he gone quiet?
