Governor Abba Yusuf has sent the name of Murtala Sule Garo to the Kano State House of Assembly for screening and confirmation as deputy governor, ending almost one month in which the state had no second-in-command. The nomination came after the resignation of Abdussalam Gwarzo on 27 March 2026, and the governor said it was made under Section 191 of the 1999 Constitution as amended.
Mustapha Muhammad, who conveyed the governor’s position, said Yusuf acted after wide consultations with key stakeholders and asked the Assembly to give the approval needed for Garo’s confirmation. Kano residents seemed to treat the move as more than a routine political appointment. Celebrations broke out across the metropolis and in several local government areas, with viral videos showing young people on motorcycles and in cars, while others marched and chanted “Sai Abba” and “Sai Garo.” Witnesses said the gatherings stayed largely peaceful despite the crowds.
Garo, 48, was born in 1978 in Garo town in Kabo Local Government Area of Kano. He has spent two decades moving through party and public office, serving as State Organising Secretary, Special Adviser to the governor, elected Kabo chairman, chairman of ALGON Kano and commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs. Muhammad also said he was the APC deputy governorship candidate in the 2023 general election.
The nomination lands in the middle of a long political strain in Kano. Gwarzo’s resignation came amid tension in the state, and some reports have linked him to followers of Rabi’u Musa Kwankwaso. The vacancy has also been tied to the wider fallout from Yusuf’s political break from the NNPP to the APC. Premium Times reported that Garo was being investigated by the state government over alleged misappropriation of ₦57.4 billion meant for local government, and in 2019 he and Nasiru Gawuna were detained by police over alleged electoral malpractice during the Kano governorship election collation.
Garo’s confirmation now rests with the Kano State House of Assembly, but the political message has already been sent. Yusuf has moved to fill the vacancy, his supporters have greeted the choice with visible enthusiasm, and the next test is whether lawmakers will turn that nomination into a confirmed deputy governor.
