Governor Abba Yusuf Yet to Confirm APC Invitation Amidst Claims by Ganduje

By Ngbede James

Sunusi Bature Dawakin, the Director-General of Media and Publicity in the office of Governor Abba Yusuf of Kano State, has refuted claims by Abdullahi Ganduje, the national chair of the All Progressives Congress (APC), that he had extended an invitation for Governor Yusuf to join the APC.

Responding to Ganduje’s comments, Dawakin stated that Governor Yusuf has not been contacted directly by Ganduje, and they only became aware of the invitation through social media channels.

“We learned about the invitation on social media, but Dr Ganduje, as a former Governor and former deputy governor, knows more than any other person how to send a message to an incumbent governor, appropriately,” Dawakin asserted during an interview on the BBC Hausa service.

Governor Yusuf, who defected to the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) before the 2023 polls, has not yet taken a stance on whether he will join the ruling APC. Despite President Bola Tinubu’s reported efforts to reconcile Ganduje and Rabiu Kwankwaso, a former governor of Kano, Yusuf remains undecided.

Recall that, Kwankwaso and Yusuf both defected to NNPP before the 2023 elections, pursuing presidential and gubernatorial bids, respectively.

While Kwankwaso’s presidential bid was unsuccessful, Yusuf emerged as the declared winner of the gubernatorial election, a decision affirmed by the Supreme Court.