Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf of Kano State has rejected Abdullahi Ganduje’s invitation to join the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Politics Nigeria reports that Ganduje, a former governor of Kano State and current chairman of the APC, had urged Yusuf to dump the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) for the APC during a stakeholders meeting on Thursday.
“I am appealing to Governor Yusuf, along with his members from the NNPP, to defect to the ruling APC at the national level to ensure massive political growth of the state,” Ganduje said.
“We are working very hard to ensure more members of the National Assembly from Kano State and others from other political parties join hands with the progressives as doors of the party remain opened to all.
“We will provide an enabling environment for all defectors for the overall political growth of our party and state. Some opposition governors and National Assembly members will soon join the ruling party,” he added.
But in a statement on Friday by his media director, Sanusi Tofa, Governor Yusuf turned down Ganduje’s offer.
Governor Yusuf noted that he had no plan of leaving the NNPP for the APC.
“We heard that he (Ganduje) is begging the Governor to join the APC. What is surprising is, that Ganduje as a former governor and former deputy governor, knows better than anyone the right channel to send a message to a sitting governor,” he said.
“Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf does not have plans to leave his party and will not leave the party. Changing a political party is like changing a house. You just cannot wake up, pack your bags, and say I have left my party. There are things to be done before you decide to change your house,” he added.
Ganduje’s call is coming barely two weeks after Governor Yusuf and the NNPP defeated the APC and its governorship candidate, Yusuf Gawuna at the Supreme Court.
