The senator representing Kano Central Senatorial District, Rufai Sani Hanga, has opened up on his decision to break away from former Kano State Governor Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso.
According to the politician, their relationship deteriorated over disagreements surrounding his political activities and empowerment programmes.
Hanga said his relationship with Kwankwaso began to suffer after he embarked on large-scale empowerment programmes for his constituents, including the distribution of vehicles, rice, fertiliser, grinding machines and other items.
The senator disclosed this during an interview with Dan’uwa Rano TV, where he explained that one of the incidents that deepened the disagreement occurred during an empowerment programme he organised at a venue associated with Kwankwaso.
According to Hanga, Kwankwaso had initially agreed to attend the event and witness the distribution of the items. The venue, he said, was filled with vehicles, bags of rice, fertiliser, livestock and other materials, all of which had taken about one and a half days to transport to the location.
Hanga said Kwankwaso appeared unhappy when he arrived at the venue and later asked those present to suspend proceedings for prayers before leaving. According to the senator, the former governor did not return after the prayers, although the programme continued in the presence of several prominent politicians and members of the National Assembly.
Among those present, Hanga said, were former Kano Deputy Governor Aminu Abdussalam Gwarzo, Wada Sagagi, Batayya, former governorship candidate Nasiru Gawuna and several federal lawmakers.
The senator said Kwankwaso later confronted him over the event and questioned why he had organised such a large empowerment programme without involving him in the distribution.
“He said, ‘You came distributing things because people are praising you, saying Kano Central has never had a senator like you. You could not even bring the items to us to distribute. You gave me 50 bags of rice, 50 bags of fertilizer, and three cows. Am I hungry, or do I not have them? That is why I refused to come back after prayers,’” Hanga quoted Kwankwaso as saying.
Hanga said he apologised to Kwankwaso and attempted to resolve the disagreement, but maintained that the incident was part of what led to their parting.
He also alleged that Kwankwaso had previously sent people to request that certain individuals be included among beneficiaries of his empowerment schemes.
According to Hanga, one of such requests was made through Sunusi Surajo Kwankwaso, who asked him to provide a vehicle for a person from Shanono, an area outside Kano Central Senatorial District.
Hanga said he eventually purchased the vehicle after being told that the beneficiary’s previous vehicle had been involved in an accident during one of Kwankwaso’s political campaigns.
“I told him that whoever he wanted us to assist, we were ready to do so,” the senator said.
However, Hanga said the experience changed his perception of his relationship with Kwankwaso, whom supporters of the Kwankwasiyya movement commonly refer to as “Jagora”, meaning leader.
“That was when I realized disrespect had set in. He has treated others this way, but he had never done it to me until that moment. I told myself that since he started acting this way toward me, it was a mark of disrespect and things would not end well between us,” he said.
The senator claimed that Kwankwaso was particularly uncomfortable with the scale of his political activities and the attention generated by his empowerment initiatives in Kano Central.
“He was simply not happy with what I was doing—the distributions and the empowerment schemes,” Hanga said.
Hanga also attributed his failure to secure another ticket to contest under the political structure associated with Kwankwaso to the former governor’s dissatisfaction with his activities.
“The reason I did not get a ticket was because ‘Jagora’ Kwankwaso was unhappy with my performance and activities,” he said.
In July, Hanga and former Kano State governor Kabiru Gaya were among prominent politicians received into the All Progressives Congress by President Bola Tinubu.
The development followed growing changes in Kano’s political landscape, including the movement of politicians previously aligned with the Kwankwasiyya structure.
Another prominent Kwankwaso ally, Kabiru Adamu Abdullahi, recently left the Nigeria Democratic Congress and joined the APC, declaring support for Tinubu ahead of the 2027 election.
Abdullahi, who was associated with the Kwankwasiyya movement in Dala Local Government Area, said he had spent nearly three decades with Kwankwaso but felt his political association had not produced the opportunities he expected.
“I have been with Kwankwaso for 29 years but have only benefited from failed promises. I will go to where I will be respected more,” he said.