The Zamfara State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has reacted to comments credited to former Senator Kabiru Garba Marafa, in which he allegedly threatened to deny President Bola Ahmed Tinubu one million votes in the 2027 presidential election.
In a statement issued in Gusau, the State APC Chairman, Hon. Tukur Umar Danfulani, dismissed Marafa’s claims as baseless, describing him as a “disgraced politician still struggling to recover from his defeat in 2019.”
Danfulani noted that contrary to Marafa’s boast of delivering votes for President Tinubu in 2023, the former lawmaker failed to win his own constituency, stressing that APC’s victory in Zamfara was the result of collective efforts by leaders such as former Governor Bello Matawalle, now Minister of State for Defence, and Senator Abdulaziz Yari, alongside other stakeholders.
He explained that Matawalle coordinated the Tinubu/Shettima presidential campaign in the Northwest, while Marafa was reluctantly assigned as Zamfara coordinator despite lacking the merit. “Having lost everywhere, Marafa turned to blackmail and needless controversies, sometimes aligning with troublemakers until they discovered his selfish motives,” Danfulani said.
The APC chairman further argued that Marafa has lost political relevance in Zamfara, citing the party’s landslide victory in the recent Kaura Namoda South State House of Assembly bye-election without any contribution from him. “It is laughable that someone who could not win his ward or local government in 2023 is now claiming he can reduce one million votes from the President,” he added.
Danfulani also accused Marafa of being haunted by a history of betrayal and deceit, recalling that his 2011 Senate victory was sponsored by Senator Yari, while his subsequent bid only succeeded after intervention by other party leaders.
“What Zamfara people know today is that Senator Marafa is all noise without substance. Even his family will hardly follow him politically, and that is why he resorts to cheap media campaigns for sympathy,” Danfulani stated.
He advised Marafa to “shine his eyes and face reality,” insisting that the APC in Zamfara remains united and formidable under the leadership of Governor Dauda Lawal and other key figures.
“Ordinarily, we would not have responded to a rejected politician like Marafa, but since he chose to attack the President, it became necessary to set the records straight. Zamfara APC is strong, united, and focused on victory. No amount of propaganda can distract us,” the statement concluded.
