- In September 2023, the Kano governorship election petition tribunal sacked Yusuf as governor of the state and declared Yusuf Gawuna of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as the winner of the state governorship election.
- In November 2023, the court of appeal upheld the tribunal’s verdict and added that Yusuf was not a member of the NNPP when he contested the election.
- On June 12, the supreme court certified the election of Abba Yusuf as Kano state governor.
Buba Galadima, a chieftain of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) has said that the federal government and President Bola Tinubu should be cautious with the politics of Kano state.
He spoke in an interview with Arise Television on Monday.
Galadima said Tinubu should be mindful of his intervention in the state politics because it would destroy his presidency.
The NNPP chieftain stated that some politicians and rich men in the state have met with the President to intervene in the legal tussle between Abba Yusuf, governor of Kano and Nasir Yusuf Gawuna, governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the 2023 election.
“I want to tell the Federal Government, including my friend, President Bola Tinubu, that he should be mindful of Kano politics, it will destroy his presidency,” he said.
“They never agree on any issue and I have an inherent knowledge of how we deal with the issue of Kano politics during the NPN when I was the youth leader.
“I know some very powerful politicians in Kano, including some rich men who came to meet the president, that they should remove Abba Yusuf and nothing will happen.
”The man I know should be smarter than what he is by telling that nothing will happen and ask them that how did it happen that you didn’t win election in the first place.
“If Boko Haram can hold the Nigerian nation to ramson for the last how 13 to 14 years, they should be careful with Kano. We have come of age in Kano and I am not threatening anyone. That is all I can say.”
Galadima criticised the judiciary’s handling of electoral disputes, highlighting instances of alleged bias and manipulation.
He recounted how the NNPP defeated its opponents despite manipulations and forceful tactics used against them. He claimed that in 2011 and again in 2023, the NNPP overcame these challenges to emerge victorious.
Galadima added that if Boko Haram can hold Nigeria ransom in the last 13 to 14 years, Tinubu will not be able to withstand the issue that will come from Kano if he interferes in the state politics.