[3] He served as commissioner of Works, Housing and Transport when Rabi'u Musa Kwankwaso was re-elected for a second term in the executive council of Kano State from 2011 to 2015.

[4] President Umaru Musa Yaradua, appointed him as the chairman, Governing Board of the National Institute for Educational Planning and Administration (NIEPA), Ondo State where he served between 2009 and 2011.

[4] In 2018, Yusuf was anointed by his boss Rabiu Kwankwaso[9][10][1] to challenge the incumbent Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje under the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party in the 2019 gubernatorial election because of their differences.

[24][25] Yusuf was elected governor of Kano State on 18 March 2023 under the platform of the New Nigeria Peoples Party alongside Aminu Abdussalam Gwarzo, his running mate.

The Tribunal Court declared Nasir Gawuna of APC as the winner of the 18 March election on Wednesday, 20 September 2023, and sacked Abba Kabir, the candidate of NNPP, from the governor of Kano State.