Kabiru Marafa, former senator for Zamfara Central, has officially parted ways with the All Progressives Congress (APC), accusing President Bola Tinubu of adopting a “use-and-dump” leadership style.
Marafa, who served as the coordinator of the Tinubu/Shettima Presidential Campaign in Zamfara during the 2023 elections, announced his decision after a two-day consultative forum meeting held in Kaduna on August 27 and 28, which brought together his supporters from all 14 local government areas of Zamfara State.
In a communiqué issued at the end of the meeting—signed by Comrade Bashir Muhammad Mafara (Chairman), Dr. Mannir Bature Tsafe (Secretary), and other members—the group expressed deep dissatisfaction over worsening insecurity, political exclusion, and developmental neglect in Zamfara under the Tinubu administration.
The communiqué highlighted Marafa’s pivotal role in delivering Zamfara’s votes for Tinubu during the presidential election, noting that he had assured the then-candidate he need not visit the state—a promise Marafa fulfilled.
Despite this loyalty, the group lamented that Zamfara has been marginalized by the current administration.
The communiqué painted a grim picture of the security situation in Zamfara, citing alarming statistics. It reported that Zamfara accounted for 1,203 out of 4,722 kidnappings nationwide in 2024, with 25 villages attacked in just one week during a bye-election, leading to 145 abductions and 21 deaths.
It further criticized the deployment of security forces during the bye-election in Kaura Namoda to secure APC’s victory while failing to protect residents from bandit attacks in the same area.
The group also decried the lack of political inclusion, pointing out that while other Northwest states received two ministerial slots, Zamfara was allocated only a junior ministerial position.
They contrasted this with the significant appointments given to states where Tinubu lost, including Lagos, describing the disparity as “deliberate neglect.”
Additionally, the Forum noted that while President Tinubu personally intervened in other crisis-ridden states with visits and relief measures, Zamfara’s victims of insecurity have been left without federal support.
The communiqué accused the APC’s national leadership of undermining Marafa’s political base, calling it a betrayal of the party’s founding principles of fairness and inclusiveness.
After what it described as “exhaustive consultations and a critical review of prevailing circumstances,” the Forum resolved to withdraw Marafa’s entire political structure from the APC across Zamfara’s 147 wards.
It stated that the decision was taken in protest against the “sustained injustice, mistrust, marginalization, and deliberate neglect” of the state and its people.
The Forum added that Marafa’s next political move would be announced in due course, guided by the collective interest of Zamfara residents.
Marafa’s departure from the APC underscores growing discontent within the party and raises questions about its handling of key stakeholders and governance in marginalized regions.