Kano State Governor, Abba Yusuf and NNPP National leader, Rabiu Kwankwaso
National leader of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, has announced that the Kwankwasiyya movement will henceforth observe January 23 as “World Betrayal Day.”
Kwankwaso made the declaration while addressing supporters at his residence in Kano, against the backdrop of the defection of Kano State Governor, Abba Kabir Yusuf, from the NNPP to the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Speaking in Hausa, the former Kano governor said the idea emerged from widespread discussions on social media following recent political developments within the party.
“I saw multiple talks regarding betrayal and many more on social media,” he said.
“But there was one post by someone who said there’s a need to declare 23rd January as World Betrayal Day.
“Because of that as a leader of this movement, I am now in support of the 23rd of January as a Betrayal Day. We will now be celebrating that day everywhere.”
Governor Yusuf formally resigned from the NNPP on Friday, January 23, the party platform on which he won the 2023 governorship election in Kano State.
His exit was accompanied by a mass defection involving 21 members of the Kano State House of Assembly, eight members of the House of Representatives, and all 44 local government chairmen in the state.
In his resignation letter, Yusuf attributed his decision to what he described as “deepening internal crises” and “prolonged leadership disputes” within the NNPP.
The development came just days after the governor held a closed-door meeting with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu at the State House in Abuja, further fuelling political speculation.
Kwankwaso, through the Kwankwasiyya movement, played a central role in Yusuf’s emergence as Kano governor in 2023. However, in recent months, reports had suggested growing strains in the relationship between the two political allies, culminating in the governor’s dramatic exit from the party.
