Kano State Governor Abba Yusuf has nominated Murtala Sule Garo as the new deputy governor of the state. Garo, who is the son-in-law of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, was formally forwarded to the Kano State House of Assembly for screening and confirmation. The position has been vacant since March 27, 2026, following the resignation of former deputy governor Aminu Gwarzo. Gwarzo stepped down amid a crisis with Governor Yusuf and faced impeachment proceedings over allegations of gross misconduct, abuse of office, and financial impropriety. Yusuf later accused Gwarzo of attempting to remove him from office.
The nomination was made under Section 191(3) of the 1999 Constitution, which allows a governor to fill a vacant deputy position after consultation with stakeholders. Garo has over 20 years of political experience, including roles as State Organising Secretary of his party, Special Adviser to a Kano State governor, and elected Chairman of Kabo Local Government. He also served as Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs and was the APC's Deputy Governorship Candidate in 2023.
Garo emerged ahead of other contenders, including former Secretary to the State Government Rabiu Suleiman and Federal lawmaker Kabiru Alhassan. His selection gained momentum after the defection of 2023 APC governorship candidate Nasiru Gawuna to the African Democratic Congress (ADC). Yusuf had previously moved from NNPP to APC, creating internal party tensions. Garo and Gawuna share a controversial past: both were arrested in 2019 for allegedly disrupting the collation of gubernatorial election results in Nasarawa Local Government. They were accused of tearing result sheets when PDP's Abba Yusuf was leading, leading to an inconclusive election and a supplementary vote that allowed then-incumbent Abdullahi Ganduje to retain power.
The Assembly now holds the responsibility to confirm or reject the nomination. Political observers are monitoring the confirmation process closely.
Governor Abba Yusuf, who once led a charge that painted result-sheet tearing as sabotage, now elevates Murtala Sule Garo—a man arrested with Nasiru Gawuna for tearing those same sheets in 2019—to deputy governor. The man Yusuf once opposed in an election disrupted by that very act now stands to govern beside him. Nigerians who recall the 2019 crisis may struggle to reconcile the past with this appointment. The Assembly's decision will signal whether that history still holds weight.
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