Author name: Umar Idris Shuaibu

Former Zamfara Central Senator, Kabiru Garba Marafa, who served as the Zamfara State Coordinator of the Tinubu/Shettima Campaign Organisation in the 2023 Presidential Election, has announced his resignation from the All Progressives Congress (APC). Marafa, who represented Zamfara Central in the Senate from 2011 to 2019, said his decision to quit the party was borne out of what he described as President Bola Tinubu’s “use-and-dump” style of leadership. The decision followed a two-day meeting of the Senator Kabiru Marafa Consultative Forum, which drew supporters from all 14 local government areas of Zamfara State. The meeting, held in Kaduna on August 27 and 28, 2025, deliberated on the worsening security, political, and developmental challenges in Zamfara. Read Also: Bago: Even If I Sell Niger State for Development, It’s Nobody’s Business At the end of the meeting, the Forum issued a communiqué signed by its chairman, Comrade Bashir Muhammad Mafara; secretary, Dr. Mannir Bature Tsafe; and several other members. The communiqué recalled that under Marafa’s coordination, President Tinubu won the 2023 presidential election in Zamfara. At the peak of the campaign, Marafa had assured Tinubu that there was no need to visit Zamfara, as he would deliver the state’s votes — a promise he fulfilled. However, the group expressed regret that despite this loyalty and contribution, Zamfara State has allegedly suffered neglect under Tinubu’s administration. The communiqué highlighted several grievances: The Forum decried the escalating insecurity in Zamfara, citing recent reports that the state topped the list of kidnappings nationwide in 2024. Out of 4,722 recorded abductions across Nigeria, Zamfara accounted for 1,203 cases. In just one week after a bye-election, 25 villages were reportedly attacked, with 145 people kidnapped and 21 killed. It condemned what it described as the use of security forces to secure electoral victory for the APC in Kaura Namoda bye-election, while failing to protect lives in the same communities devastated by banditry. Despite delivering victory for Tinubu, Zamfara received only a Minister of State appointment, while other Northwest states got two slots each. 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, Zamfara has allegedly been ignored, leaving victims without federal support. The group accused the national leadership of sidelining Marafa’s political structure, contrary to APC’s founding principles of fairness, equity, and inclusiveness. After “exhaustive consultations and a critical review of prevailing circumstances,” the Forum resolved as follows: That the entire political structure of Senator Kabiru Garba Marafa across the 147 wards of Zamfara State has formally resigned from the APC in protest against “sustained injustice, mistrust, marginalisation, and deliberate neglect” of the state and its people. That the group will, in due course, announce its next political direction, guided by the collective interest of Zamfara people.