There is heavy security presence around and inside the Kano State Government House the planned defection of Governor Abba Yusuf to the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC caused tension in the state.
DAILY NIGERIAN reports that the massive deployment of security forces is coming as the planned defection of the governor faces severe backlash, especially in the Kwankwasiyya camp.
According to security sources, the deployment was aimed at preventing any possible breakdown of law and order in the state.
“It’s obvious that this decision has provoked many supporters of the governor and the Kwankwasiyya movement. The governor is not finding it easy”, the source said.
DAILY NIGERIAN gathered that all the angles of the Government House were fortified with heavily armed and stern-looking security operatives.
On Friday, DAILY NIGERIAN reported that the governor had concluded arrangements to announce his defection to the APC on Monday. However, the planned move was postponed following intense backlash from residents and political stakeholders across the state.
Sources said the postponement was to allow for further consultations with APC leaders, as well as efforts to woo more members of the National Assembly and the Kano State House of Assembly to support the defection.
The development comes as the national leader of the Kwankwasiyya Movement and the governor’s political godfather, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, publicly distanced himself from the defection move.
Addressing a crowd of supporters at his Miller Road residence in Kano on Saturday, Mr Kwankwaso described the planned defection as a betrayal of the mandate of the masses who voted the governor into office under the platform of New Nigeria Peoples Party, NNPP.
Mr Kwankwaso also described as absurd the call by some elected chairman and appointees of the governor urging him to lead them to the APC.
Meanwhile, supporters of the Kwankwasiyya movement have intensified mobilisation and strategising in anticipation of the governor’s impending exit from the Kwankwasiyya fold.
DAILY NIGERIAN observed that a popular Hausa adage “A ci dadi lafiya”, loosely translated as “enjoy the good life in peace” has been adopted by Kwankwasiyya followers to taunt the deserting governor and his supporters.