Supporters of former Zamfara Central Senator, Kabiru Marafa, have announced their resignation from the All Progressives Congress (APC), citing injustice, marginalisation, and neglect of the state by the ruling party and President Bola Tinubu’s administration.
The group, operating under the Senator Kabiru Marafa Consultative Forum, reached the decision after a two-day meeting held in Kaduna on August 27 and 28. In a communiqué signed by Chairman Bashir Mafara, Secretary Mannir Tsafe, and seven others, the forum said it had “unanimously resolved” to withdraw from the APC.
The statement accused the Tinubu administration of failing to address worsening insecurity in Zamfara, pointing to official and community data on kidnappings and killings. According to the group, of the 4,722 people kidnapped across Nigeria in 2024, 1,203 were from Zamfara alone. It also cited reports by the Zamfara Circle Community Initiatives, which documented 25 villages attacked in a single week after a by-election, resulting in 145 abductions and 21 deaths.
“The Federal Government of Nigeria, under the leadership of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu GCFR, hasn’t been able to address the persistent and senseless kidnappings and killings of innocent citizens in Zamfara State, despite explicit promises made during the 2023 campaign,” the communiqué read.
The group also alleged that Zamfara had been sidelined in federal appointments and development projects despite delivering victory to President Tinubu in the 2023 election. It faulted the state’s allocation of only a Minister of State, while other North-West states received higher representation, and criticised what it described as the disproportionate patronage enjoyed by Lagos, where Tinubu lost.
“These actions and omissions negate the fundamental principles of justice, fairness, equity, and accountability upon which the APC was founded,” the forum added. “Conscience demands that genuine progressives must stand for truth and resist injustice, no matter how uncomfortable.”
The Marafa group said it would announce its next political move “in due course,” pledging that any decision would be guided by the interests of the people of Zamfara.
