President Bola Tinubu is scheduled to visit Kano State on Monday, February 16, 2026, to lead a grand reception for Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf at the Sani Abacha Stadium. This formal event serves as a high-profile welcome following the governor’s recent defection from the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC).
The ceremony is expected to be a major political gathering, with Vice President Kashim Shettima, several APC governors, and top federal government functionaries in attendance to celebrate what party leaders are calling a “massive gathering for the progressive family.”
The transition follows a period of significant political realignment in the state. Governor Yusuf officially resigned from the NNPP on January 23, 2026, citing internal crises within his former party and the need to align Kano more closely with the federal government for the state’s progress.
He was formally received into the APC on January 26 at the Coronation Hall of the Government House, where he completed the party’s e-registration.
During that initial event, the APC National Chairman and former Kano Governor, Abdullahi Ganduje, declared Yusuf as the leader of the party in the state and announced that the other potential 2027 governorship contenders had agreed to step down to support his re-election bid.
Preparations for Monday’s mega rally are being managed by an 82-member committee inaugurated by the Kano State APC Chairman, Alhaji Abdullahi Abbas. To ensure a hitch-free ceremony, various subcommittees have been tasked with overseeing security, logistics, health, and mobilization.
The defection has also seen a wave of support within the state’s political structure, as 22 members of the House of Assembly and 44 local government chairmen joined the governor in moving to the APC. However, his deputy, Aminu Abdulsalam, has notably chosen to remain with the NNPP, affirming his continued loyalty to the party’s leader, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso.
