Kano: Minister to dump APC over leadership crisis

The Minister of State for Housing and Urban Development, Yusuf Ata, has issued a strong warning to the All Progressives Congress (APC), threatening to leave the party if Abdullahi Abbas is retained as the chairman of the Kano State chapter.

Ata, who was sworn in as minister on November 4, 2024, alongside Idi Maiha (Minister of Livestock Development), Suwaiba Ahmad (Minister of State for Education), and Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu (Minister of State for Foreign Affairs), made the statement on Saturday at the APC Caucus meeting in Fagge Local Government, Kano. The meeting was held ahead of the party’s National Executive Council (NEC) and National Working Committee (NWC) sessions scheduled for next week in Abuja.

The former Speaker of the Kano State House of Assembly attributed the APC’s loss in the 2023 elections to its leadership’s actions and utterances, which he claimed “challenged the will of Allah.” He stressed that had the party leadership been more humble and faithful, victory would have been assured.

“If they retain them, we will leave, and the party will surely lose again,” Ata declared. “We are not with such people, and no matter what happens, we will not align with them. They send us messages, and we respond accordingly.”

Ata further emphasized that power is ultimately granted by God, not through votes, money, or influence. He insisted that the APC governorship candidate, Nasiru Gawuna, and his running mate, Murtala Garo, rightfully won the 2023 election but were denied victory through alleged rigging. However, he noted that despite legal battles proving electoral fraud, their efforts failed because “the One who gives power did not grant it to us.”

Abdullahi Abbas is currently serving his third tenure as APC chairman in Kano, a position that has now become a source of internal crisis within the party.