The Minister of State for Housing and Urban Development, Yusuf Bala Atah, has sounded a strong warning over the potential defection of former Kano State Governor, Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, to the All Progressives Congress (APC), cautioning that the move could spark serious internal conflict within the party in Kano State.
Speaking to journalists on Tuesday after a closed-door meeting with APC National Chairman Abdullahi Umar Ganduje at the party’s national secretariat in Abuja, Minister Atah did not mince words, declaring that Kwankwaso’s relevance in Kano politics had waned and his entry into the APC would be unwelcome by party stakeholders in the state.
“Kwankwaso is no longer relevant in Kano,” Atah stated. “He is only coming to APC, not that we invited him. Because he is going to die politically. I am assuring you, and even Mr. President has all his security records from the grassroots in Kano.”
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The minister expressed concerns that the former governor’s return could fracture the party’s unity and reignite political rivalries. “He is no more attractive. So, he is struggling to be accommodated in the APC. That may bring a lot of crises to the APC in Kano State. This is our position.”
Painting a symbolic picture of Kwankwaso’s fading influence, Atah pointed to the once-ubiquitous red caps — the emblem of the Kwankwasiyya movement — now scarcely seen in Kano.
“Before now, if you visited a mosque in Kano, you would see many red caps. But today, even among 5,000 worshippers, you may not find 20,” he said.
Atah further reaffirmed the loyalty of Kano APC members to the party’s national leadership. “We are strongly behind our national chairman. We have been discussing it with him. This is the opinion of all the Kano State APC, even at the grassroots.”
However, the APC National Chairman, Ganduje, offered a more conciliatory position, suggesting the party may consider welcoming Kwankwaso back for the sake of political stability.
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“When a fish is running out of water, that’s exactly what is happening,” Ganduje said. “If the water is drying, the fish has to find its way to water… When you see your son running to where he would get shelter, and you are a big brother in a big home, I think it is morally right to accommodate him.”
Describing the former governor as politically stranded, Ganduje emphasized the need for compassion. “Somebody who has been abandoned, we should not allow him to wallow in darkness.”
Nonetheless, Minister Atah stood firm on the conditionality of any reconciliation. “Unless the national chairman, who is the leader of the party in Kano, takes a decision to accept him, Kwankwaso stands rejected,” he asserted.
When asked about his personal view, Atah was blunt: “Personally, I won’t be happy. Unless it is a decision from our father (Ganduje) to accommodate him. I was in the House of Assembly in 1999 when Kwankwaso was the governor. So I know Kwankwaso very well.”