NNPP Crumbles in Kano as Governor Yusuf, Lawmakers Quit Party

By Sampson Erick

The New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP) has suffered a major political setback in Kano State following the resignation of Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf and a sweeping defection of elected officials across the state.

Yusuf announced his resignation from the party on Friday, January 23, 2026, citing prolonged leadership crises, internal divisions, and unresolved legal disputes that have weakened cohesion within the party at both state and national levels.

In a resignation letter addressed to the chairman of Diso–Chiranchi Ward in Gwale Local Government Area, the governor acknowledged the NNPP’s role in his emergence during the 2023 general elections but said internal instability had made effective political coordination increasingly difficult.

According to the governor, disagreements that initially appeared manageable had grown into deep structural fractures, leaving party members disenfranchised and uncertain about the party’s direction.

Confirming the development, the governor’s spokesperson, Sunusi Tofa, said the decision followed weeks of consultations and reflection.

The defection has triggered a coordinated political exit in Kano, with 21 members of the Kano State House of Assembly, eight members of the House of Representatives, and all 44 local government chairpersons in the state also resigning from the NNPP.

The mass exit effectively strips the NNPP of its institutional power in Kano, once the party’s strongest political base and the centre of its most significant electoral successes in 2023.

Political observers say the development exposes the fragility of smaller parties grappling with internal governance failures and could significantly weaken the NNPP ahead of future elections.

While Yusuf has not announced his next political move, his resignation comes days after a meeting with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in Abuja, a development that has sparked speculation about possible realignments at the national level.

Neither the Presidency nor the All Progressives Congress (APC) has commented on the meeting, and Yusuf’s camp has declined to clarify whether he intends to join another party or align with a new political platform.

For now, the governor says his focus remains on governance and stability in Kano, even as the NNPP faces its deepest crisis since emerging on the national political scene.