Lucky Obukohwo, Reporting
Former Zamfara Central Senator and Zamfara State Coordinator of the Tinubu/Shettima Campaign Organisation during the 2023 Presidential Election, Kabiru Garba Marafa, has jetted out from the All Progressives Congress (APC).
He resigned from the party accusing President Bola Ahmed Tinubu of using and dumping the people of Zamfara after securing their support to win the presidency.
Marafa, who represented Zamfara Central in the National Assembly between 2011 and 2019, announced the decision after a two-day strategic meeting of his political structure held on August 27 and 28, 2025, in Kaduna.
The meeting had in attendance stakeholders from all 14 local government areas of the state under the Senator Kabiru Marafa Consultative Forum.
In a communiqué issued at the end of deliberations, signed by eight key members, including Comrade Bashir Muhammad Mafara (Chairman) and Dr Mannir Bature Tsafe (Secretary), the group declared a total withdrawal from the APC, citing “sustained injustice, mistrust, marginalisation, and deliberate neglect of Zamfara State and its people”.
It read in part: “The entire structure, with all its supporters across the 147 wards in Zamfara State, hereby formally resigns from the All Progressives Congress (APC) in protest against the sustained injustice and deliberate neglect of Zamfara State.
“We shall, in due course, announce our next political direction guided by the collective interest of the good people of Zamfara State.”
The communiqué painted a grim picture of deteriorating security, political exclusion, and selective federal intervention, accusing the Tinubu led administration of reneging on campaign promises.
It expressed grave concern over the failure of the APC-led federal government to tame senseless kidnappings and killings despite explicit assurances during the 2023 campaigns.
Citing recent reports, they noted that Zamfara tops Nigeria’s abduction chart, with 1,203 out of 4,722 people kidnapped nationwide in 2024—far above Kaduna, which recorded 629.
They quoted figures from Zamfara Circle Community Initiatives, revealing that 25 villages were attacked in one week after the recent bye-election, leaving 145 kidnapped and 21 killed in communities such as Fegin Mahe (Gusau), Banga (Kaura), Adafka (Bukkuyum), Chediya (Tsafe), and Damri (Bakura).
“The situation continues to worsen, leaving communities devastated and hopeless,” the group said.
The forum accused the APC of deploying troops to Kaura Namoda only during a bye-election to secure victory for its candidate while abandoning the same communities after the polls, despite previous massacres. It alleged that huge sums were spent on vote-buying in areas ravaged by insecurity, forcing residents “to sell their votes to survive”.
Marafa’s camp reminded President Tinubu that Zamfara was one of only two North-West states he won in 2023, crediting Marafa’s efforts for the feat, yet the state remains sidelined in political appointments and federal projects.
“We delivered Zamfara for Mr President. Lagos, where he lost, got multiple ministerial slots and controls key financial agencies. Zamfara got only a Minister of State,” the communiqué lamented.
The group decried what it called selective justice, noting that while the president personally visited states with lower casualty figures after attacks, he has never visited Zamfara since assuming office over two years ago, despite its record number of victims.
They accused the APC leadership of undermining its founding ideals of fairness and equity, saying Marafa’s loyalists were deliberately ignored in all federal opportunities despite their role in Tinubu’s victory.
“The above actions and omissions negate the fundamental principles upon which APC was founded. Conscience demands that genuine progressives resist injustice, no matter how uncomfortable,” the forum stated.
Marafa’s group vowed to chart a new political course in the coming weeks, insisting the decision was in the best interest of Zamfara and its people.