By Obinna Uballa
President Bola Tinubu has ordered an immediate suspension of the All Progressives Congress (APC) electronic membership registration exercise in Kano State, a move that has intensified speculation over an imminent political realignment involving Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf.
The directive was disclosed on Saturday by a member of the House of Representatives, Alhassan Ado Doguwa, in a 27-second video that has since gone viral on social media.
According to Doguwa, the decision was taken by the APC national leadership following direct instructions from Tinubu.
“The leadership of the APC at the national level, acting on the directive of President Bola Tinubu, has ordered that the commencement of the APC e-registration in Kano be stopped,” the lawmaker said.
Doguwa, who represents Doguwa/Tudun Wada Federal Constituency, is a ranking APC chieftain in Kano. He currently chairs the House Committee on Petroleum Resources (Upstream) and the Special Committee on Oil Theft/Losses in the 10th National Assembly.
The suspension comes barely a week after the Kano State Publicity Secretary of the APC, Ahmed Aruwa, announced that the party was fully set to flag off the e-registration exercise in the state.
Aruwa had said that the APC was expecting the former Kano State governor and national party leader, Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, to be present for the official launch.
“We are fully prepared for the commencement of the e-registration, and we are expecting our leader, Dr Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, to be in Kano for the official flag-off,” Aruwa said at the time.
“The registration is part of efforts to strengthen the party’s structure and expand its membership base across the state.”
However, Doguwa suggested that the abrupt halt was directly linked to unfolding political developments involving Governor Yusuf of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP).
‘Tinubu has accepted Abba’
In his remarks, Doguwa implied that the APC leadership decided to pause the exercise to accommodate a potential high-profile defection by the Kano governor.
“What will you do if Tinubu says he has accepted Abba? Well, today he accepted him,” Doguwa said in the video.
“The plan was to start collecting the APC e-registration register tomorrow, but the President and the national leadership of the APC said to pause and wait until Abba officially defects, as he will be the first to collect the membership card.”
Although the APC has yet to issue an official statement to clarify the suspension, the comments have further fuelled widespread speculation that Yusuf may be on the verge of defecting to the ruling party.
For weeks, Kano’s political space has been rife with rumours of intense behind-the-scenes consultations involving the governor, senior APC figures, and influential stakeholders in both Abuja and Kano.
Multiple reports have claimed that Yusuf is weighing his options ahead of the 2027 general elections, amid shifting alliances and mounting pressure within the state’s political establishment.
The speculation has been compounded by reports of high-level political meetings and what opposition figures describe as administrative slowdowns within the Kano State Government, developments they attribute to preparations for a possible political realignment.
Neither the Kano State Government nor the NNPP leadership has confirmed or denied the defection claims. However, political analysts argue that the reported suspension of the APC’s registration exercise points to ongoing negotiations aimed at carefully managing internal party dynamics in the state.
High stakes ahead of 2027
Kano remains one of Nigeria’s most politically strategic states, with a large voting population and a history of fiercely contested elections. Any shift in the governor’s political allegiance could significantly alter the balance of power, both within the state and at the national level.
Analysts note that the decision to halt the APC registration exercise – reportedly on presidential orders – underscores the sensitivity of the situation and the desire to avoid internal friction ahead of a possible defection.
