President Bola Tinubu on Sunday sent warm birthday wishes to Kano State Governor, Abba Yusuf, commending his “integrity, modesty, humility and commitment to public service.”
Tinubu conveyed his felicitations in a statement signed by his Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga.
Sunday’s birthday message comes hours after Yusuf’s highly anticipated defection from the New Nigeria Peoples Party to the APC, originally scheduled for Monday, January 5, 2026, his 63rd birthday, was postponed to January 12.
In the statement, Tinubu lavished praise on the Kano governor, highlighting his infrastructural achievements and commitment to grassroots development.
“Governor Yusuf’s leadership experience, particularly his years as commissioner managing strategic portfolios in Kano State, may have prepared him for the kind of infrastructural changes now witnessed in the state,” the President said.
“He has embarked on urban renewal programmes, building bridges and road networks, including five-kilometre roads in each local government in the state,” he added.
Tinubu also noted improvements in Kano’s education sector, stating, “I also understood that his declaration of emergency in education has engendered a marked improvement in the performance of Kano students in NECO exams.”
The President described Kano as “the bastion of progressive politics in the North,” adding that Yusuf’s regime “re-echoes the commitment to grassroots development and ameliorating the plight of the Talakawas as championed by the late Mallam Aminu Kano.”
Reports indicate that at least 25 out of 27 NNPP members of the Kano State House of Assembly, including Speaker Yusuf Falgore, have endorsed the governor’s planned defection, along with a significant number of local government chairmen.
A source close to the governor revealed that Yusuf requested additional time during a meeting with Vice President Kashim Shettima in Abuja on Friday to further consult with state legislators and key stakeholders who have yet to fully commit to the move.
The planned defection has created a rift between Yusuf and his political godfather, NNPP national leader Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, who has reportedly expressed disappointment at the development.
Kwankwaso questioned the insistence on having Kano’s governor defect to the APC, arguing that doing so would strip the Kwankwasiyya movement of its only executive stronghold.
He suggested that if the governor was determined to leave, those encouraging the move should also be prepared to have him relinquish the governorship.
The NNPP state chairman, Hashimu Dungurawa, appealed to Yusuf to remain with the party, warning that defecting to the APC would betray the mandate given to him by voters who elected him on the NNPP ticket.
However, Kano State APC Chairman Abdullahi Abbas formally invited Yusuf to join the ruling party, saying the APC was ready to receive him “with open arms so that, together, we can pool our strengths for the progress and stability of Kano State”.
Yusuf is currently the NNPP’s only sitting governor nationwide.
His defection to the APC may neutralise the governorship ambition of Deputy Senate President Barau Jibrin, who has been aspiring for the APC ticket to contest against Yusuf in the 2027 polls.
