A chieftain of the New Nigerian Peoples Party (NNPP), Buba Galadima, has strongly condemned the defection of Kano State Governor, Abba Yusuf, to the All Progressives Congress (APC), describing it as the worst political betrayal in history.
Galadima made the remark on Tuesday while speaking as a guest on Prime Time, a programme aired on Arise Television. According to him, Governor Yusuf’s decision to abandon the NNPP amounts to a personal and political betrayal of the people of Kano State who elected him on the party’s platform.
He stated that the governor’s defection was driven by personal interest rather than the collective will of the electorate, adding that the move had severely undermined public trust.
“Governor Yusuf’s defection was done for his personal interest. It is a betrayal to the people of Kano. In fact, this betrayal should be recorded in the Guinness World Record,” Galadima said.
The NNPP chieftain further suggested that January 23, the day Governor Yusuf resigned from the party, should be marked annually as World Betrayal Day.
Governor Yusuf officially resigned his membership of the NNPP last Friday and completed his return to the APC on Monday, a development that has sparked widespread reactions across Nigeria’s political space.
Expressing deep emotional pain over the defection, Galadima said the incident affected him profoundly despite his long years in politics. He noted that at over 75 years of age, he rarely allowed emotions to influence his public comments.
“I have grey hairs on my head. I am well above 75 years of age, and if I could shed tears over anything, it must have touched me beyond expression,” he said.
Galadima went further to compare the governor’s defection to some of the most infamous betrayals in history, describing it as the third greatest betrayal of humanity, following Judas Iscariot’s betrayal of Jesus Christ and Brutus’ betrayal of Julius Caesar.
