Former Zamfara Central Senator, Kabiru Garba Marafa, has officially resigned from the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Marafa who served as the Zamfara State Coordinator of the Tinubu/Shettima Campaign Organisation in the 2023 Presidential Election, explained that his decision to quit the party was borne out of what he described as President Bola Tinubu’s use-and-dump style of leadership
Marafa also represented Zamfara Central in the Senate from 2011 to 2019.
The resignation is coming after a two-day meeting of the Senator Kabiru Marafa Consultative Forum in Kaduna on August 27 and 28, 2025, which drew supporters from all 14 local government areas of Zamfara State.
The forum deliberated on the worsening security, political, and developmental challenges in Zamfara.
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 he would deliver Zamfara’s votes and he fulfilled it.
Now, the group is regretting that despite this loyalty and contribution, Zamfara State has allegedly suffered neglect under Tinubu’s administration whole other states that did not vote for him enjoyed more ministerial and developmental patronage.
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.
Zamfara further alleged that the president has ignored them when affected by insecurity while he personally intervened with visits and financial aid in other states.
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.
