Former senator Mr. Marafa has been fighting for supremacy with Zamfara State APC leaders.
Kabiru Marafa, a former senator and coordinator of the Tinubu/Shettima 2023 Campaign in Zamfara State, said on Thursday that he was switching from the All Progressive Congress (APC) to the African Democratic Party (ADC).
In the Sokoto, Kebbi, and Zamfara axis, Mr. Marafa, a former state commissioner, is a well-known supporter of President Bola Tinubu.
Mr. Marafa accused President Tinubu of frantically attempting to sow doubt in Nigeria’s democratic environment when announcing his decision to leave.
Following a strategic stakeholders’ conference in Kaduna State, where Senator Marafa conferred extensively with his political allies and followers, the decision to leave the APC was made.
“After careful deliberations and consideration of the future direction of the political movement, Senator Marafa formally declared his decision to align with the African Democratic Congress,” his new media aide, Mansur Haruna, said in a statement.
Mr. Marafa charged the ruling APC with “political manipulations” during the meeting, including purported attempts to manipulate the National Identification Number (NIN) database for partisan political registration.
“Speaking on the current national political climate, Senator Marafa criticised what he described as attempts by the ruling administration under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to create confusion and instability within opposition political parties.
“He maintained, however, that no amount of political pressure or crisis would deter his movement from joining the ADC, stressing that the decision represents a firm commitment to liberate the people from what he termed ‘political bondage’,” the statement added.
In 2019, Mr. Marafa ran for the APC governorship, but Abdulaziz Yari, the governor at the time, did not endorse him. Two divisions within the party were formed as a result of Mr. Marafa encouraging prominent politicians to oppose Mr. Yari.
In order to contest the results of the party’s primary elections, he hauled the APC to court. The lawsuit reached its conclusion when the Supreme Court declared, following the polls, that the primaries had not been conducted properly and awarded the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) all of the seats that the APC had won.
following the party lost the state to the PDP once more in 2023, Mr. Marafa and Mr. Yari parted ways once more following a brief reconciliation in 2021.
In an effort to gain leadership of the APC in the state, he has been engaged in ongoing conflicts with both Mr. Yari and Bello Matawalle, the minister of state for defence.