By Mahmoud Muhammad, Kano
Vice President Kashim Shettima was on Monday received by enthusiastic residents of Kano as he made his way through major streets of the ancient city to the Sani Abacha Stadium for the official rally marking the defection of Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf to the All Progressives Congress (APC).
The rally, which many had initially expected to be headlined by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu himself, instead featured the Vice President as the federal government’s top representative. Political observers noted the president’s absence, interpreting his decision to delegate the high-profile event to his deputy as a calculated move amid reported unease over publicly associating too closely with Governor Yusuf at this stage.
Despite the president’s absence, party structures moved swiftly to give the event full national weight. The APC National Chairman, Prof. Nentawe Goshwe Yilwatda, personally supervised the defection of several members from the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the APC in Dawakin Kudu Local Government Area of Kano State, reinforcing the party’s consolidation drive in the state.
During the rally, party faithful and new defectors endorsed both President Tinubu and Governor Yusuf for second terms in office, signaling an attempt to project unity and continuity within the party, even as questions lingered in some quarters about the optics of the president’s nonappearance.
A prominent indigene of the Dawakin Kudu/Warawa Federal Constituency also used the occasion to publicly call on the Chief of Staff to the APC National Chairman, Hon. Mustapha Bala Dawaki, to return to active politics and contest the Dawakin Kudu/Warawa House of Representatives seat.
The well-attended event drew top APC chieftains, including APC National Chairman Prof. Yilwatda; Deputy Senate President Senator Barau Jibrin; former APC National Chairman Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje; Kano State APC Chairman Abdullahi Abbas; Executive Chairman of the Presidential Compressed Natural Gas Initiative (PCNGi), Ismail Ahmed; Special Adviser to the President on Senate Matters, Senator Bashir Lado Mohammed; and several other party leaders and stakeholders.
While the rally showcased the APC’s expanding ranks in Kano, the president’s decision to be represented by his deputy rather than attend in person is likely to continue fueling political interpretations about the dynamics between the presidency and the Kano governor.
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