By Abiola Olawale
Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, the National Leader of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), has officially declared January 23 as “World Betrayal Day.”
The declaration follows the resignation of his long-term protégé, Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf of Kano State who dumped the NNPP on Friday.
Addressing a sea of red-capped supporters at his Miller Road residence on Saturday, Kwankwaso expressed deep disappointment over the Governor’s exit.
He noted that the decision to institutionalize the date was inspired by the outpouring of grief and anger from loyalists on social media.
The NNPP leader said the Kwankwasiyya movement will begin commemorating January 23 to mark those who betrayed the group.
“I saw multiple talks regarding betrayal and many more on social media,” he spoke in Hausa.
“But there was one post by someone who said there’s a need to declare 23rd January as World Betrayal Day.
“Because of that as a leader of this movement, I am now in support of the 23rd of January as a Betrayal Day. We will now be celebrating that day everywhere.”
On Friday, January 23, Yusuf formally resigned from the NNPP, the platform on which he was elected governor in 2023.
The Kano governor left the party along with 21 members of the Kano state house of assembly, eight members of the house of representatives, and all 44 LGA chairmen in the state.
He cited “deepening internal crises” and “prolonged leadership disputes” as key reasons for his exit from the NNPP.
The resignation came days after Yusuf met with President Bola Tinubu at the State House, Abuja.
Kwankwaso played a prominent role in Yusuf’s emergence as governor of Kano in 2023 through his Kwankwasiyya movement.
