Minister threatens to leave APC over Kano chairmanship

Blames chairman’s utterances for party’s election loss   The Minister of State for Housing and Urban Development, Yusuf Abdullahi Ata, has warned that he and his supporters will leave the All Progressives Congress (APC) if Abdullahi Abbas or anyone like him is reinstated as the party’s chairman in Kano State. Ata alleged that Abbas’s controversial […]

• Blames chairman’s utterances for party’s election loss

 

The Minister of State for Housing and Urban Development, Yusuf Abdullahi Ata, has warned that he and his supporters will leave the All Progressives Congress (APC) if Abdullahi Abbas or anyone like him is reinstated as the party’s chairman in Kano State.

Ata alleged that Abbas’s controversial statements were the reason the party lost power in the 2023 governorship election despite what he described as a clear victory.

Speaking at a Fagge party caucus meeting at the Federal Secretariat in Kano, Ata declared: “If they bring him back, we will leave. The party will fall again. We are not with such people, and no matter what happens, we will not align with them.”

He attributed APC’s defeat to remarks made by Abbas, which he described as blasphemous and offensive to God. He warned that if Abbas is reinstated, the party risks another electoral setback.

“We were raised with good morals. We respect God, our scholars, and our elders. If they insist on bringing him back, we will leave, and I swear, the party will fall again,” Ata stated.

He stressed the need to replace Abbas with a more reputable figure, arguing that power is granted by God, not by votes or financial influence.

“Votes do not give power, money cannot buy power, and even the people do not ultimately decide who rules. Gawuna and Garo won the election clearly, but fraud was committed against us. We went to court, and it was proven we were cheated. Yet in the end, the one who gives power withheld it from us because we challenged Him,” he added.

This marks the first time the minister has openly criticised the APC leadership in Kano. However, many believe his remarks stem from tensions over his appointment, following President Bola Tinubu’s removal of Abdullahi Tijjani Gwarzo as minister. It was rumoured that the APC leadership in the state were against his appointment.

Abbas, an ally of APC National Chairman Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, could not be reached for immediate comment.

On his part, the Secretary of the APC in Kano, Ibrahim Zakari Sarina declined comment on the issue.

He, however, said, “we have nothing to say on this. We will not say anything.”