Kwankwasiyya leader and chieftain of the Nigerian Democratic Congress, Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, has fired back at Kano State Governor, Abba Kabir Yusuf, over comments rejecting the description of the governor as his political stooge.
Kwankwaso, in a recent interview with Trust TV, had described Governor Yusuf as “Abba PA,” saying he lifted him politically and made him governor.
Yusuf, in response, faulted the remark, saying it was disrespectful for Kwankwaso, 69, to refer to him as a boy despite the fact that he is 63 years old.
The governor’s response marked his first public rebuke of the former Kano governor since both men parted political ways earlier this year.
Addressing supporters at his Miller Road residence in Kano on Wednesday, Kwankwaso dismissed the criticism, insisting that several political figures who rose through his structure could not deny once being his political boys.
He said even former Kano State Governor, Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, who served two terms as his deputy, could not deny that political history.
“I heard that some people said they dislike being called boys. If not for insolence, how could Mai Gidan Ruwa or Aminu Goro say they were not my boys politically? How could even Ganduje deny that he was once my boy?” Kwankwaso asked.
Governor Yusuf had earlier said his silence should not be mistaken for fear, warning Kwankwaso to respect himself or risk having certain issues exposed.
The disagreement comes amid the widening political rift between Kwankwaso and Yusuf, who won the Kano governorship election under the New Nigeria Peoples Party platform backed by Kwankwaso before later defecting to the All Progressives Congress.
Since the split, Kwankwaso has repeatedly accused Yusuf of betrayal, alleging that the governor abandoned the political platform that brought him to power.
