Kano State Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf has stepped up efforts to resolve a growing political disagreement within the All Progressives Congress as opposition forces intensify preparations to challenge his administration and mount a bid to unseat him in the 2027 governorship election.
Yusuf brokered a reconciliation between the Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Barau I. Jibrin, and the Chairman of the House Committee on Appropriations, Abubakar Kabir Bichi, in an effort to contain their differences and strengthen cohesion within the Kano APC ahead of the elections.
The reconciliation meeting was held in Abuja in the early hours of Wednesday and lasted about two hours, according to the Kano State Government.
The meeting brought together two of the most prominent Kano APC figures at a time when political actors across the state are repositioning ahead of the 2027 elections, including efforts by opposition groups to build a coalition capable of challenging Yusuf at the polls.
The development was disclosed in a statement issued by the Director-General, Media and Publicity, Kano State Government House, Sunusi Bature Dawakin Tofa.
Yusuf urged Barau, Bichi and their respective supporters to put aside their grievances and stop public exchanges capable of deepening divisions within the party.
“Henceforth, I do not expect any of your supporters to come out and abuse one another. We must put a stop to this unnecessary distractions,” the governor said.
The governor said political disagreements were part of democratic engagement but should not be allowed to undermine the unity and stability of the APC.
He also urged the two political leaders and their supporters to work together for the success of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the Kano State Government and other APC candidates ahead of the 2027 elections.
Yusuf appealed to party members to avoid inflammatory statements, character assassination and other actions capable of widening the disagreement.
“The APC remains one family and all stakeholders have a responsibility to ensure that internal crises are resolved through dialogue, consultation and mutual respect,” the statement quoted the governor as saying.
The intervention comes against the backdrop of intensifying political activity in Kano, where parties and political groups are already positioning themselves for the 2027 elections.
Opposition actors have been mobilising and exploring ways to challenge Yusuf’s administration at the next governorship election, making internal cohesion among the governor’s political allies an increasingly important issue in the unfolding contest.
Rather than allow disagreements involving senior APC figures to become wider party disputes, Yusuf’s latest intervention seeks to bring the Barau and Bichi camps together and discourage supporters from engaging in public confrontation.
The Kano Government said the reconciliation process received the endorsement of President Tinubu, adding that Yusuf assured the President, APC national leadership, Kano State chairman and other stakeholders of the party’s commitment to working collectively ahead of the elections.
The statement also quoted Yusuf as saying the Kano APC was prepared to pursue all elective positions in the state in 2027.
“Gov. Abba K. Yusuf further assured the President and National Leader of the party, the National Chairman, the State Chairman and all critical stakeholders that the APC is set to win all elective positions in Kano come 2027 by God’s Grace,” the statement said.
That statement represents the governor’s declared political objective for the APC in Kano and not an established election outcome.
Following the meeting, Barau and Bichi separately appealed to their supporters to avoid actions capable of reigniting the disagreement.
The two leaders also expressed appreciation to Yusuf for intervening and facilitating what they described as a truce and reconciliation.
Their decision to caution supporters is significant because disagreements involving prominent political figures can extend beyond the individuals directly involved when supporters engage in public exchanges, rival mobilisation and competing political campaigns.
For Yusuf, maintaining cohesion among senior political figures within the APC could become increasingly important as opposition groups step up efforts to build momentum for the 2027 contest.
The latest intervention is also part of a series of reconciliation efforts attributed to the governor involving political actors in Kano.
In May, Yusuf helped broker an agreement between Senator Suleiman Kawu Sumaila and House of Representatives member Kabiru Alhassan Rurum following a political disagreement in Kano South.
Yusuf had also previously intervened in a disagreement involving Barau and former Minister of State for Housing and Urban Development, Abdullahi Tijjani Gwarzo, over political interests surrounding the Kano North senatorial seat. Gwarzo later withdrew from the contest in support of Barau, according to the supplied statement.
The Barau-Bichi reconciliation therefore comes as political preparations for 2027 gather momentum, with both the governing APC and opposition forces working to consolidate their respective political structures.
Barau is the Deputy President of the Senate, while Bichi chairs the House Committee on Appropriations, giving both lawmakers senior positions at the National Assembly and prominent roles within Kano’s APC political structure.
The two leaders have now been urged to channel their influence towards maintaining party cohesion and preventing disagreements among their supporters from escalating into wider divisions.
The governor’s appeal also placed emphasis on dialogue and consultation as mechanisms for managing disagreements within the party, rather than allowing disputes to develop into wider political confrontation.
For the Kano APC, the reconciliation provides a public indication that the two camps are prepared, at least for now, to de-escalate their differences and work within the same party structure as the 2027 elections approach.
The development also highlights the wider political stakes in Kano, where the contest for the governorship is expected to draw intense competition as opposition groups seek to build a formidable challenge to Yusuf while the governor works to consolidate his political base.
West Trybe reports that Yusuf’s intervention to reconcile Barau and Bichi comes as Kano’s political camps intensify preparations for 2027, with the governor seeking to contain internal APC disagreements while opposition forces mobilise towards a campaign aimed at unseating him.This version makes “opposition mounts bid to unseat him” a central political context without presenting the opposition’s eventual success or failure as a prediction.
