Former Kano State governor, Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, has declared that Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf and former governor Abdullahi Ganduje remain his political protégés despite growing tensions in Kano politics.
Kwankwaso spoke at his Miller Road residence in Kano while addressing supporters of the Kwankwasiyya movement.
Reacting to comments allegedly linked to Governor Yusuf over being referred to as “his boy,” Kwankwaso joked that some people no longer wanted to be identified as his political sons.
“I was made to understand that a few don’t want to be referred to as my boy,” he said, drawing laughter from supporters.
Speaking further in Hausa, the former governor insisted that both Yusuf and Ganduje rose politically under his mentorship.
“If it is not out of disrespect, will Abba Kabir Yusuf say he is not my political son? If it is not out of disrespect, will Abdullahi Umar Ganduje say he is not my political son?” Kwankwaso asked.
His supporters responded with loud applause as he defended his influence on the political careers of the two Kano politicians.
Kwankwaso remains one of the most influential figures in Kano politics, having served as governor, minister and senator.
Governor Yusuf is widely regarded as his political ally and successor, while Ganduje, who once served as Kwankwaso’s deputy governor, later fell out with him over political differences.
Ganduje had earlier rejected claims of a godfather-son relationship, despite acknowledging that he worked closely with Kwankwaso in the past.
