Former Kano State Governor and national leader of the Kwankwasiyya movement, Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso, says he remains willing to forgive Governor Abba Yusuf and reconcile with him despite their political differences, insisting that his affection for his former protégé has not diminished.
Relationship between the two politicians soured after Yusuf defected from the New Nigeria People’s Party, under which he won the 2023 governorship election, to the ruling All Progressives Congress, a move that drew sharp criticism from members of the Kwankwasiyya movement.
Speaking in an interview in a video posted by BBC Hausa on Monday, Kwankwaso, who has also defected from NNPP to the Nigeria Democratic Congress, said the door to reconciliation remains open.
He stressed that Yusuf was the one who chose to leave their political fold and that he would not turn him away if he decided to return.
“I still love Abba and I didn’t reject him, he is the one that left. So not just Abba, if anyone who left comes back, I won’t be unforgiving. Look at Ganduje, in the many years we worked together, we fell out several times and got back together. That is how politics works,” he said.
Kwankwaso argued that Yusuf’s electoral victory was made possible by the strength of the movement.
