Tinubu is a ‘Use-and-Dump’ Leader, Says Senator Marafa as He Resigns From APC

 

Former Zamfara Central Senator, Kabiru Garba Marafa, has announced his resignation from the All Progressives Congress (APC).

He accused Bola Tinubu of adopting a “use-and-dump” style of leadership.

Marafa, who represented Zamfara Central in the Senate between 2011 and 2019, also served as the Zamfara State Coordinator of the Tinubu/Shettima Campaign Organisation during the 2023 presidential election.

The decision to dump the APC followed a two-day meeting of the Senator Kabiru Marafa Consultative Forum held in Kaduna on August 27 and 28, 2025.

The gathering, which drew members from all 14 local government areas of Zamfara, reviewed the security, political, and developmental situation in the state.

In a communiqué issued at the end of the meeting and signed by its chairman, Comrade Bashir Muhammad Mafara, and secretary, Dr. Mannir Bature Tsafe, the Forum expressed disappointment over what it described as neglect of Zamfara by Tinubu’s administration despite Marafa’s role in delivering the state during the 2023 elections.

The communiqué recalled that under Marafa’s coordination, Tinubu won in Zamfara without visiting the state, after being assured by Marafa that the votes were guaranteed.

However, it noted that the state had since been sidelined in federal appointments and development projects.

The Forum lamented the worsening insecurity in Zamfara, citing data that the state recorded 1,203 of the 4,722 abductions across Nigeria in 2024, the highest nationwide.

It added that, within one week of a recent bye-election, 25 villages were attacked, 145 people kidnapped, and 21 killed.

It also condemned what it described as the selective use of security forces — deployed heavily to ensure APC’s victory in the Kaura Namoda bye-election, but allegedly absent when bandits terrorised the same communities.

On political patronage, the group decried that Zamfara only secured a Minister of State appointment, while other North-West states received two ministerial slots each.

It further alleged that states where Tinubu lost, including Lagos, had been rewarded with greater political and developmental benefits.

Marafa said the developments underscored his conviction that Tinubu’s leadership alienates loyal allies once they have served his purpose.