Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso has opened the door to reconciliation with Kano State Governor, Abba Yusuf, saying their political differences have not erased his personal affection for his former political associate.
Kwankwaso, leader of the Kwankwasiyya Movement and running mate to Peter Obi, presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), said he would forgive Yusuf and reconcile with him if the governor chooses to return.
The former Kano State governor made the position known in an interview with BBC Hausa Service, shared on his verified social media account on Saturday.
His comments come against the backdrop of the political rupture that followed Yusuf’s departure from the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) for the All Progressives Congress (APC), after years of close political association with Kwankwaso.
Rather than portraying the disagreement as a permanent break, Kwankwaso said he never abandoned Yusuf or instructed him to leave the political platform, insisting that his personal disposition towards the governor remained unchanged.
“I didn’t abandon him, didn’t ask him to go or dismiss him, I still like him,” Kwankwaso said, adding that Yusuf would be forgiven if he decided to return.
Kwankwaso also used his previous disagreement with former Kano Governor Abdullahi Ganduje to illustrate his approach to political conflicts, recalling that despite their disagreements, he eventually supported Ganduje politically.
He said his willingness to forgive was not peculiar to Yusuf, arguing that political disagreements should not necessarily prevent reconciliation or cooperation.
According to him, his experience with Ganduje demonstrated that political relationships could survive serious disagreements when individuals were prepared to put differences aside.
Kwankwaso further rejected the perception that his political influence means he dictates the choices of those associated with him, saying individuals have different backgrounds, experiences, ages and educational orientations that shape their decisions.
“I’m not God,” he said, stressing that those who choose to associate with him must understand that not everyone will think or act according to his preferences.
The former governor also said political endorsement within his movement was not a transaction, insisting that neither Yusuf nor Ganduje was required to pay him for support or political tickets.
“We don’t ask for a dime from each of them to get our endorsement and tickets; we don’t sell our candidature,” he said.
Yusuf, a long-standing political associate of Kwankwaso, won the 2023 Kano governorship election on the NNPP platform before subsequently moving to the APC, a development that deepened the political distance between the two men.
Kwankwaso’s latest remarks nevertheless suggest that the disagreement has not closed the possibility of reconciliation, with the former governor presenting forgiveness and political tolerance as central to maintaining relationships despite divergent political choices.
