The Strategy That Delivered Kano to the Presidential Party

Someone joked recently that Kano politics never announces itself; it simply rearranges the furniture while everyone is still in the room. By the time you look up, the seating plan has changed, and the door is locked.

That, broadly, is what happened on Monday, January 26, 2026. Governor Abba Yusuf formally returned Kano State to the All Progressives Congress (APC), the ruling party at the centre, coming not alone but accompanied by the entire state.

Twenty-two of 24 Assembly members followed Yusuf, with nine federal lawmakers and all 44 local government chairmen, making it seem less like a defection and more like a coordinated migration, executed with clinical efficiency.

The thing is, Kano is not just another state. It is Nigeria’s second most populous, a dense electoral quarry where margins matter. Any party serious about 2027 has to secure Kano or spend years regretting it.

For President Bola Tinubu, this is a consequential coup. Kano now sits firmly inside the federal tent, reducing electoral uncertainty and simplifying turnout calculations.

Yusuf was elected in 2023 on the platform of the NNPP, riding the formidable Kwankwasiyya machine. His return to the APC is a signal of a clean rupture with Rabiu Kwankwaso, his former mentor and political patron.

According to Yusuf, the move is about stability. He cites endless litigation within the NNPP, confrontational politics, and stalled development. The language is conciliatory, even technocratic. The subtext is survival.

Meanwhile, the APC has cleared internal space for him, with reports suggesting an automatic ticket in 2027. This means the opposition in Kano is suddenly anaemic. With the grassroots structure hollowed out, Kwankwasiyya may have lost its operational muscle. The spectre of a national third-force alliance looks less menacing without Kano’s machinery.

Of course, there is risk. Kano has a history of resisting the centre. Voters sometimes reward defiance over alignment. There is also pending litigation, a juridical aftertaste that could linger into the election season.

Still, politics is about timing as much as ideology. Yusuf has chosen proximity over purity, leverage over loneliness. For now, Kano is not arguing with Abuja but listening closely, which is more telling than any applause.