Former lawmaker and Zamfara State Coordinator of the Tinubu/Shettima Campaign Organisation in the 2023 presidential election, Senator Kabiru Marafa, has resigned from the All Progressives Congress alongside his political structure.
Marafa, who represented Zamfara Central Senatorial District between 2011 and 2019, announced his exit after a two-day meeting of his supporters under the Senator Kabiru Marafa Consultative Forum, held in Kaduna on August 27 and 28.
In a communiqué signed by leaders of the forum, including Bashir Mafara and Mannir Tsafe, the group said the mass resignation was in protest against “sustained injustice, mistrust, marginalisation, and deliberate neglect of Zamfara State and its people.”
Marafa, who played a key role in securing victory for President Bola Tinubu in Zamfara during the 2023 polls, accused the President of being a “use-and-dump leader.” He lamented that despite his efforts during the campaign, Zamfara had been sidelined since Tinubu assumed office.
The group also decried worsening insecurity in the state, citing media reports that of the 4,722 people abducted nationwide in 2024, 1,203 were from Zamfara alone.
Data from the Zamfara Circle Community Initiatives was also referenced, showing that in one week, 25 villages were attacked, leaving 145 abducted and 21 killed across several local government areas.
The communiqué accused the Federal Government of failing to protect lives in Zamfara, contrasting the heavy deployment of security operatives during the Kaura Namoda House of Assembly bye-election with the immediate withdrawal of troops after the poll, which allegedly allowed bandit attacks to resume.
The forum further alleged widespread vote-buying during the election, describing it as exploitation of impoverished residents already devastated by banditry.
On political exclusion, the group faulted Tinubu for allocating only a Minister of State position to Zamfara while granting Lagos, where he lost in 2023, multiple cabinet posts and federal appointments.
They also criticised the President for not visiting Zamfara or showing solidarity with communities ravaged by banditry, while extending assistance to less-affected states.
“This assignment on Your View is now complete. My first step is to rest and hibernate before embarking on my next venture,” she said, adding that her next phase will focus on a long-nurtured passion project.
The forum said the treatment meted out to Zamfara negates the principles of fairness, equity, and justice upon which the APC was founded.
It vowed to announce its next political direction in due course.