Kano State Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf has nominated Murtala Sule Garo as deputy, a high-stakes move that could redraw the contours of power in the state.
Gov Yusuf nominates Murtala Sule Garo, Deputy Gov.Kano State Governor,Alhaji Abba Kabir Yusuf,has nominated Alhaji Murtala Sule Garo,as his Deputy Gov after the resignation of Comrade Abdulsalam Gwarzo.
In a statement issued by the Governor’s Chief Press Secretary, Mustapha Muhammad, on Wednesday revealed that Garo had been nominated to fill the vacant deputy governor position.
He added that the nomination is in line with the provision of Section 191(3) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), which empowers the Governor to nominate a Deputy Governor where a vacancy exists.
“Following a wide consultation with key stakeholders, the Governor has requested the Assembly to grant the necessary approval for Garo’s nomination” he said
He further noted that,the 48 year old Sule Garo is a seasoned political administrator with over two decades of service in both elective and appointed positions.
“He has served as State Organising Secretary of his party, Special Adviser to Kano State Governor to elected Kabo Local Government Chairman” he added
The newly appointed Deputy Governor has served as Chairman of ALGON Kano, Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, and Deputy Governorship Candidate of the APC in the 2023 general elections.
“His nomination is part of efforts to strengthen governance and sustain effective service delivery in Kano State.”he said
This follows the recent political rift between Gov Abba and his ex_deputy governor spiraling from the governor’s defection from the New Nigeria People Party NNPP under which he was elected to the ruling APC.
Gwarzo has come under pressure to defect to the ruling APC with his principal but he refused which created a rift between him and Gov Yusuf.
Earlier the state House of Assembly commenced a move to impeach him before he tendered his resignation letter and dumped the New Nigeria People Party for the opposition ADC.
Garo Gets Support From APC stakeholders.
A major Kano State forum of APC stakeholders had earlier backed the appointment of the former Commissioner for Local Government Affairs,Murtala Sule Garo to fill the vacant position of the Deputy Governor.
At a late-night strategy meeting on Saturday, relevant stakeholders of the party within Kano State gave affirmation to support Garo noting that “he secured about 90% endorsement from attendees—especially from the influential old bloc.”
Prominent party members who have endorsed Sule Garo included former Kano State governor and ex-APC National Chairman, Abdullahi Umar Ganduje; former Deputy Governor and former Minister of State for Housing, Abdullahi Tijjani Gwarzo; Hon. Abubakar Kabir Bichi, Senator Abdurrahman Kawu Sumaila; Dr. Mariya Bunkure, Minister of State FCT; Senator Garba Lado; APC stalwart AA Zaura; former Speaker of the Kano State House of Assembly and current Member of Dambatta/Makoda Federal Constituency, Hamisu Chidari; House of Representatives member, Alhassan Ado Doguwa, Hon. Abdulmumin Jibrin Kofa, Hon, Abdullahi Sani Rogo, among many others.
Speaking on behalf of the forum members,the former House of Representatives Majority Leader, Alhassan Ado Doguwa, urged Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf to pick Garo, describing him as a loyal, tested, and grassroots-driven politician.
“Garo is the most suitable candidate. He has remained consistent, patient, and loyal. This is the kind of support the governor needs at a critical time,” Doguwa said
With no current office holding him back,party members and stakeholders see Garo as the man whom the cap fits.political commentators said his emergence could reinforce APC unity in Kano and stabilize the state’s political landscape at a crucial moment.
Gov Yusuf had in January, defected from the New Nigeria People Party to the ruling APC while citing the need to act in the best interest of the people of the state.
Reacting , the former National Chairman of the All Progressive Congress, APC, Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje said the party has resolved to grant an automatic ticket to Governor Abba Yusuf of Kano State.
“There is no crisis in the APC in Kano State. We have discussed with our 2023 governorship candidate and his running mate are happy to receive you into APC.
And they assured me that they would withdraw for you. Similarly, those who show interest have also assured me that they have stepped down for you” he said
Ganduje made the assertion during the governor’s formal defection from the New Nigeria People’s Party, NNPP to the APC at the Kano State government house.
He also declared that with the defection of the Governor into the party, he automatically assumed the position of the party leader in the state.
Kwankwaso Disapprove Gov Yusuf Defection to APC
The presidential candidate of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) in the 2023 general election and leader of the Kwankwasiyya Movement, Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, has said that Kano State Governor, Abba Kabir Yusuf, and his political associates will eventually regret their decision to leave the party.
Kwankwaso made the assertion during an interview with the BBC Hausa Service, in January while describing the governor’s defection as shocking and difficult to comprehend.
“Many people have come to me saying they believe what happened was part of an arrangement—either between me and him or between me and those around him.
Even I, on several occasions, find it hard to believe that events have unfolded the way they did,” Kwankwaso said.
He added that time would reveal the consequences of the decision, insisting that Governor Yusuf and those who followed him would come to regret abandoning the movement.
The move came less than three years after Yusuf won the Kano State governorship election on the platform of the NNPP, a party closely associated with Kwankwaso and the Kwankwasiyya political movement.
The recent defection has made Gov Yusuf part ways with his long time political godfather Senator Kwankwaso.
The move has continued to attract widespread reactions within and outside Kano State, given the long-standing political relationship between Kwankwaso and Yusuf, as well as the pivotal role played by the NNPP in the governor’s emergence.
