Kano State Governor Abba Yusuf on Monday visited the Presidential Villa, Abuja, where he met with President Bola Tinubu, reigniting speculation over his long-rumoured defection to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

The governor was sighted making his way to the President’s office at about 4:13pm, dressed in a white babanriga and a red Kwankwasiyya cap, a symbol closely associated with his political base.

The meeting marks Yusuf’s first known engagement with President Tinubu since the President returned from the 2026 Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week in the United Arab Emirates.

Sources familiar with the ongoing political negotiations said plans for Yusuf’s defection—earlier expected in early January—have faced repeated delays due to unresolved demands.

According to one source, the APC leadership has resisted Yusuf’s request for a written assurance guaranteeing him the party’s governorship ticket for the 2027 elections.

The governor is also reportedly pushing for the right to nominate a minister to represent Kano State in the Federal Executive Council, as well as the authority to replace Kano-based federal appointees with his loyalists. These demands are said to have caused friction with influential APC figures within the state.

Among those reportedly uneasy about the negotiations is Deputy Senate President Barau Jibrin, who is widely believed to have his own governorship ambitions ahead of 2027.

Days before the Aso Rock meeting, Governor Yusuf presided over the first Kano State Executive Council meeting of 2026 at the Kano State Governor’s Lodge in Abuja, according to a video shared on his official Facebook page.

Meanwhile, former Kano State Governor and leader of the Kwankwasiyya movement, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, recently accused the current Kano State administration of coercing local government officials to publicly declare their political loyalty.

Speaking in Hausa in a video message to his supporters, Kwankwaso alleged that council chairmen, councillors, secretaries and other officials were being compelled to align either with the Kwankwasiyya movement or the rival Gandujiyya faction.

He described the practice as disturbing and unacceptable, regardless of political affiliation, especially amid speculation surrounding Governor Yusuf’s possible defection from the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP) to the APC.

Kwankwaso leads the Kwankwasiyya movement, while the Gandujiyya faction is associated with former Kano State Governor and ex-APC National Chairman, Abdullahi Ganduje.

“This is something that causes pain. No true lover of Kano State, even if not our supporter, would be happy with such a development,” Kwankwaso said.