“Kwankwaso Also Was Once My Boy” –  Ganduje Fires Back

By Suleiman Anyalewechi

The mind game raging between the leader of the Kwankwasiyya Movement, Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, and his estranged political godson, Governor Abba Yusuf, on Friday, May 29, 2026, expanded with the immediate past National Chairman of the All Progressive Congress, APC, Dr. Abdullahi Ganduje,  joining the fray.

The Source reports that Senator Kwankwaso, who was, also, a former Governor of Kano State,  ignited the tinder box a couple of days ago, when, during an interview with the Trust TV, not only referred to Governor Yusuf as his political godson, but also as “his boy”.

However, Governor Yusuf was so incensed by Kwankwaso’s reference of him as a “boy” that he took a swipe at his erstwhile political mentor, with a stern warning to give him a full measure of his acerbic side should he  dare to address him in such a manner in future.

Addressing All Progressive Congress, APC, members and supporters at a function penultimate week, Governor Yusuf warned that he may be forced to open a can of worms that may prove a handful for Kwankwaso should he once again refer to him as boy.

“Kwankwaso is 69 years old, and I am 63. So, how can a 69 year old be calling a 63 year old a boy?”, Governor Abba fumed.

But while addressing members and supporters of the Kwankwasiyya Movement at his Miner Road, Bompai Kano residence on Wednesday, Kwankwaso not only insisted that Governor Yusuf remains his boy, he also claimed that even former Ganduje can never denied being his boy at some point.

“I was made to understand that some people don’t want to be referred to as my boy.

“Now, if not out of disrespect, will Abba Kabiru Yusuf say he is not my political son? If it is not out of disrespect , will Abdullahi Umar Ganduje say he is not my politicalson?”, the Kwankwasiyya Movement leader queried.

But reacting on Friday, Dr Ganduje who is presently away in Saudi Arabia for the Muslim pilgrimage, described Kwankwaso as his political crony at a point on his political journey.

In a statement signed by  Mohammed Garba, his Chief of Staff, the former National Chairman of the ruling APC, noted his pivotal roles in pushing Kwankwaso up the political ladder, beginning from the botched third Republic, when assisted in no small measure in his emergence as the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives.

“At that time, Ganduje could confidently have referred to Kwankwaso as his political boy, having supported him morally and financially during that period”, Garba stated.

Ganduje also emphasized that Kwankwaso was a frequent visitor to his office while serving as a senior civil servant with the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, and later, as the Kano State Commissioner for Works, during the military era.

This is as he described as unnecessary the descent into introducing, what he called “boy-master” rhetorics into contemporary political discuss at a time the people are expecting their leaders to focus on good governance and development.

Revisiting the events of 1998, Ganduje insisted that the popular perception among stakeholders and observers was that he actually defeated Kwankwaso during the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, primaries, but was cajoled to deputize Kwankwaso in the interest of then emerging democracy.

Ganduje, however, admitted that both of them maintained a very good, and mutual working relationship between 1999 and 2003 and 2011 and 2015 when they served as Governor and Deputy Governor.

Waxing philosophical, Ganduje admonished that politics should not be reduced to  the level of  “master-servant” relationship, maintaining political relationships evolve overtime.

“Politics should not be about who is superior to the other. A father can nurture a child who eventually becomes greater in status, and influence”, the statement noted .