January 24, (THEWILL) — The political realignment in Kano State reached a fever pitch on Saturday as Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf sacked his Special Adviser on Political Matters, Sunusi Surajo Kwankwaso, replacing him with a former strategist for his arch-rival, Abdullahi Ganduje.
The appointment of Mustapha Bakwana, a former political adviser to the ex-Governor and current APC National Chairman, underscores the radical shift in the state’s power dynamics.
Bakwana, who had briefly defected to the NNPP last year, now returns to a position of influence just as Governor Yusuf prepares to formally rejoin the All Progressives Congress (APC).
The development was confirmed by the Governor’s Spokesperson, Sunusi Bature Dawakin Tofa, barely 24 hours after the Governor resigned from the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP).
The exit of Sunusi Surajo Kwankwaso, a staunch loyalist of Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso and former Chairman of Madobi Local Government, highlights the deepening fracture within the Kwankwasiyya movement.
While the government framed the move as a “sack,” Sunusi Surajo had reportedly attempted to tender his resignation on Friday.
In a viral video, he claimed that his resignation letter was rejected by the Office of the Secretary to the State Government, forcing him to announce his exit publicly.
He reaffirmed his unwavering loyalty to Senator Kwankwaso, vowing never to join the APC.
Governor Yusuf’s decision to appoint Bakwana—a man intimately familiar with the Ganduje political machinery—is seen by analysts as a strategic bridge-building move ahead of his formal reception into the APC.
The Governor’s defection, which includes 44 local government chairmen and a majority of state and federal lawmakers, effectively strips the NNPP of its only governorship seat and signals the end of his decades-long political partnership with his mentor.
Abdullahi Yusuf is a seasoned journalist, communicator and was previously the Deputy Editor-In-Chief and Zonal Manager, News Agency of Nigeria, NAN, Jos, where he retired on December 15, 2021
