The Emerging Progressives Leaders’ Forum, a political pressure group within the All Progressives Congress (APC), has accused Barau Jibrin, the Deputy Senate President, of being responsible for the defection of the party’s 2023 governorship candidate in Kano State, Yusuf Gawuna, to the African Democratic Congress (ADC).
Hafiz Idris, the group’s National Coordinator, signed a statement on Thursday in Abuja saying that Barau hurt Gawuna’s chances of getting a key political job after he lost the 2023 gubernatorial election to Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf of the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP).
The group says that this event finally made Gawuna decide to leave the APC and join the ADC.
The forum also said that the Deputy Senate President was trying to stop the nomination of Murtala Sule Garo, Gawuna’s former running mate, as the next Deputy Governor of Kano State after Aminu Abdulsalam stepped down.
It remembered that Garo had been Barau’s campaign director-general in both the 2015 and 2019 elections, showing that he had been loyal to him for a long time.
The statement also brought up the controversy that surrounded Barau’s political career in 2015. It said that Garo, who is from the same senatorial district, stood by him during that time.
Meanwhile, sources in the Kano State Government House say that Governor Yusuf has decided to make Garo the Deputy Governor because he is popular with the people and was the APC’s candidate for Deputy Governor in the 2023 elections.
After looking at a number of candidates, the governor is said to have narrowed his choice to the Kano North politician, seeing Garo as a strategic choice to strengthen political unity across the state.
But powerful people in Abuja are reportedly strongly opposing the expected appointment.
The group said that Barau is “deeply uncomfortable” with the possibility of Garo’s nomination and is working behind the scenes to stop it from happening. They say that he is supporting another candidate for political reasons, such as maintaining regional balance and influence.
According to political experts, the situation is a sign of a larger fight for power in Kano’s political structure, especially as alliances start to form in preparation for upcoming elections.
Despite growing pressure, insiders say that Governor Yusuf is still set on his decision and is unlikely to change it unless he faces serious political consequences.
As tensions rise, people who are watching say that the standoff could make the political class more divided and start a bigger fight for power in the state.
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