Olusegun ARIYO
The Kano State Governor’s defection to the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, has been condemned by the New Nigeria Peoples Party, NNPP.
According to the party’s National Secretary, Dipo Olayoku, the defection is a sign of a broader collapse of constitutional federalism in Nigeria.
Recall that on Monday, Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf formally joined the APC alongside 22 members of the Kano State House of Assembly and nine federal lawmakers at an event held at the Coronation Hall of the Kano Government House.
According to him, the decision followed extensive consultations and was aimed at strengthening governance and accelerating development in the state.
The governor also stated that better alignment with the Federal Government under President Bola Tinubu would improve cooperation, service delivery, and open up new development prospects for the state.
Reacting to this, Olayoku, while speaking on Eagle 102.5 FM, Ilese Ijebu, and monitored by our correspondent in Abeokuta on Tuesday, said the defection was not entirely surprising but remained unsettling for the party leadership.
Olayoku asserted that the current federal structure undermines true federalism and reduces state governors to mere subordinates of the presidency.
“Unfortunately, today, what we have in Nigeria is a principal—that is, the president and class captains, the governors. That is what the current administration has reduced our governors to.
“It didn’t come as a surprise, but it is shocking. His defection wasn’t something we could have prevented. We did everything possible within our reach, but ultimately, the decision was his. There are pressures in our democracy today that make situations like this inevitable.
“We’ve seen similar cases, like Governor Siminalayi Fubara in Rivers State, and the pressures from the ruling party can be intense.”
He asserted that Governor Yusuf had encountered severe pressure from outside sources and ongoing resistance from federal institutions, which he said made governance challenging.
“If you have a governor who gives an order and the Commissioner of Police counters it, then it tells you the type of democracy we are in,” Olayoku said.
Olayoku cautioned that the defection trend poses a threat to Nigeria’s multiparty democracy beyond party politics, adding that, “It is not a lesson for the NNPP. It is a wake-up call to Nigerians. Multiparty democracy in Nigeria is under serious threat.”
