Sunday Aborisade in Abuja 

In a major political development with far-reaching implications for the All Progressives Congress (APC), the senator, who represented Zamfara Central in the 7th and 8th National Assembly, Kabiru Garba Marafa, has announced his resignation and those of his teeming supporters from the ruling party. 

Marafa, who was the Zamfara State Coordinator for the Tinubu/Shettima Presidential Campaign in 2023, described President Bola Tinubu as a “use-and-dump” leader.

The former chairman of the 8th Senate Committee on Petroleum Resources (Downstream), lamented that the president had not only betrayed personal trust but also abandoned Zamfara State after securing its crucial support in the 2023 presidential election.

The Marafa political family’s exit from APC was announced following a two-day consultative meeting held on August 27th and 28th, 2025, in Kaduna, the Kaduna State capital without revealing their next line of action.

The resolution was accompanied by a communiqué jointly signed by key members of the Senator Kabiru Marafa Consultative Forum representing all the 14 local government areas of Zamfara State.

According to the communiqué made available to THISDAY in Abuja on Friday, Marafa’s political structure across the 147 wards in the state unanimously resolved to resign from the APC in protest against what it described as “sustained injustice, mistrust, marginalisation and deliberate neglect of Zamfara State and its people”.

Marafa recalled that he had personally assured President Tinubu of Zamfara’s support and even urged him not to visit the state during the presidential campaign, promising to deliver it without the president’s physical presence. 

True to that commitment, he said, Zamfara became one of only two states in the North-west that gave Tinubu a victory during the 2023 elections, a feat acknowledged by Tinubu himself.

Part of the communique read: “Despite this pivotal contribution, the Marafa-led structure in Zamfara was sidelined in all areas.  Political appointments, infrastructural development and federal presence. 

“While Lagos State, where Tinubu lost, received overwhelming patronage and multiple ministerial slots, Zamfara was handed only a Minister of State portfolio, with no meaningful developmental attention or federal engagement,” it added.

The communiqué expressed grave concern over the escalating insecurity in Zamfara, calling it a humanitarian disaster made worse by federal neglect. 

It cited the data published by some newspapers and noted that Zamfara topped the list of states affected by kidnappings, with 1,203 of the 4,722 kidnapped nationwide in 2024 coming from the state alone.

Just weeks ago, it added, 25 villages in the state were reportedly attacked in a single week, resulting in 145 kidnappings and 21 deaths. 

The communiqué read: “Locations such as Fegin Mahe, Banga, Adafka, Damri and Jangebe have been left devastated, yet no high-level federal visit or relief has been extended.

“In sharp contrast, President Tinubu had visited states with far less security crises, offering support and financial assistance. Zamfara, where the crisis is most acute, has been met with silence and abandonment.”

The Forum condemned the alleged  politicisation of security in Zamfara, especially during the recent by-election in Kaura Namoda, where it further alleged that military deployment was used not to protect lives, but to facilitate electoral victory for the APC. 

It read: “Shockingly, security personnel were withdrawn after the election and attacks resumed almost immediately.

“Further compounding the injustice was the excessive vote-buying that took place in an area ravaged by poverty and insecurity, a situation that is a clear indication that the APC values power over human life.”

Marafa and his supporters, according to the communiqué, also decried the marginalisation of APC members from Zamfara, particularly his loyalists who formed the backbone of Tinubu’s victory in the state. 

“Despite several appeals for recognition, they have been treated as outsiders within the party.

“The actions and inactions of President Tinubu and the APC negate the founding principles of justice, fairness and accountability. It is clear that loyalty is rewarded with betrayal and sacrifice is met with exclusion.

“The Forum therefore resolved that the entire political structure of Senator Kabiru Garba across all 147 wards in Zamfara State, hereby formally resigns from the All Progressives Congress (APC) with immediate effect. 

“It also resolved that the group will announce its next political direction in due course, guided by the collective interest of the good people of Zamfara State,” it said.

The communiqué stressed that the decision was taken after exhaustive consultations and in response to the deepening crisis of governance, security and political integrity under the APC-led Federal Government.

Although the communiqué did not explain the political party that Marafa and his supporters are defecting to, multiple sources within the camp, confided in THISDAY in Abuja on Friday that they would soon join the African Democratic Congress (ADC).

One of the sources said: “We will soon formally defect to the ADC where we believe that our efforts would be properly recognised and appreciated.”

With this bold move, Marafa has not only drawn attention to the festering wounds of injustice in Zamfara but also sent a clear signal that the politics of deception, neglect, and selective reward has its consequences. 

As one of the few northern leaders who stood firm with Tinubu during the turbulent 2023 campaign, his departure leaves a gaping hole in the APC’s northern support base, and marks a new chapter in the unfolding political narrative of 2025.

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