Ex-Zamfara Central Senator Marafa Dumps APC

Former Zamfara Central lawmaker, Senator Kabiru Marafa has announced his resignation from the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Marafa, who represented Zamfara Central in the Senate from 2011 to 2019, said the decision was borne out of what he described as President Bola Tinubu’s “use-and-dump” style of leadership and neglect of the State.

LEADERSHIP recalls that Senator Marafa served as the Zamfara State Coordinator of the Tinubu/Shettima Campaign Organisation in the 2023 presidential election.

He said the decision followed a two-day meeting of the Senator Kabiru Marafa Consultative Forum, held in Kaduna on August 27 and 28 with supporters from all 14 local government areas of Zamfara to deliberate on the security, political and development challenges in the State.

A communiqué signed by the Chairman of the Forum, Comrade Bashir Mafara; Secretary, Dr. Mannir Bature Tsafe recalled that President Tinubu won the 2023 presidential election in Zamfara under Marafa’s coordination.

However, the group expressed regret that despite this loyalty and contribution, Zamfara State has allegedly suffered neglect under Tinubu’s administration.

Part of the grievances of the the Forum include what it called escalating insecurity in Zamfara, citing recent reports that the state topped the list of kidnappings nationwide in 2024.

It noted that out of 4,722 recorded abductions across Nigeria, Zamfara accounted for 1,203 cases, stating that in just one week after a by-election, 25 villages were attacked with 145 people kidnapped and 21 killed.

The Forum also claimed that Zamfara got only a Minister of State appointment, while other North-West states got two slots each in the Tinubu-led administration.

The Forum noted that states where Tinubu lost — especially Lagos — enjoyed more ministerial and developmental patronage, describing this as deliberate neglect.

Unlike other states affected by insecurity where the President personally intervened with visits and financial aid, the Forum said Zamfara has been ignored, leaving victims without federal support.

The group further accused the national leadership of sidelining Marafa’s political structure, contrary to APC’s founding principles of fairness, equity, and inclusiveness.

Following “exhaustive consultations and a critical review of prevailing circumstances,” the Forum resolved that the entire political structure of Senator Marafa across the 147 wards of the State has formally resigned from the APC in protest against “sustained injustice, mistrust, marginalisation, and deliberate neglect” of the state and its people.

It added that the next political direction of the groupd will be announced in due course, guided by the collective interest of Zamfara people.