Former Zamfara Central senator, Kabiru Marafa, has accused President Bola Tinubu of sidelining his loyal allies after clinching power, describing him as a “use-and-dump” politician.
Naijaonpoint reports that Marafa, who recently resigned from the All Progressives Congress (APC) after consulting his political structure, made the allegation on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Monday.
He cited worsening insecurity, injustice, and neglect of Zamfara in federal appointments as reasons for dumping the ruling party.
He said, “Thank you for alluding to the fact that because I didn’t get what I wanted, I dumped him (Tinubu). I want to ask you, is politics slavery? Why do you think I joined politics? Why is Mr President himself in politics?”
The former lawmaker emphasised that his decision was not driven by personal ambition, but by a commitment to equity, insisting that he would not allow his people to be mistreated.
Marafa further stated, “If Mr President didn’t get the opportunity he got now to be the President, would he have been able to allocate resources of over N3tn to Lagos State? Would he have been able to appoint the number of aides from Lagos State, where he lost elections and won in Zamfara State?
“I’m not in politics to serve anybody. My parents were not slaves. I have never been a slave to anybody; I am in politics to impact the lives of my people.”
Marafa lamented that Zamfara, one of only two North-West states Tinubu won in 2023, got just the Minister of State for Defence, while other states received multiple slots.
The former lawmaker said, “The Constitution says every state must be represented in the Federal Executive Council. In the whole seven states of the North-West, Mr President secured victory in only Jigawa and Zamfara. Yet, most of the states got two ministerial slots, while we were left with only the Minister of State for Defence. We felt slighted by that position, regardless of who it was given to.”
Marafa argued that his grievances mirrored the treatment of other APC heavyweights.
He said, “Compare this with Lagos: Mr President lost Lagos. How many slots did Lagos get? How many did Ogun get? Looking at the treatment meted out on Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, looking at the treatment meted out on Abdullahi Ganduje, looking at the treatment meted out on me, we are now convinced that Mr President is a use-and-dump leader. That is the truth about it.”
While confirming his resignation from APC, Marafa said he had not yet decided on his next political move.
Marafa added, “Anybody can call me names, but I am in politics to get positions and to impact the lives of my people.”
He added that he would take time to “figure things out” before aligning with another platform.
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