Seven serving members of the Zamfara State House of Assembly have resigned from the All Progressives Congress (APC), deepening internal disagreements within the ruling party in the state.
The lawmakers announced their withdrawal from the APC on Sunday, citing concerns over insecurity, alleged injustice and other issues affecting their constituents.
The development comes shortly after scores of APC members led by Hajiya Hadiza Liman defected to the National Democratic Congress (NDC), citing alleged unfair treatment by party leaders in Zamfara.
The seven lawmakers are Aliyu Ango Kagara, representing Talata Mafara South; Ibrahim Tukur Bakura, representing Bakura; Faruk Musa Dosara, representing Maradun I; Bashir Abubakar Masama, representing Bukkuyum North; Muktaru Nasiru Kaura, representing Kaura North; Nasiru Abdullahi, representing Maru North; and Bashar Bello, representing Bungudu West.
The lawmakers were reportedly previously suspended from the State House of Assembly following an attempt to impeach the Speaker about a year ago.
Sources said the issues surrounding their suspension had remained unresolved and subsequently affected their efforts to secure the APC’s return tickets for the 2027 election, with only one of the affected lawmakers reportedly securing a ticket.
The lawmakers said they could no longer remain in a political party which, in their view, had failed to adequately address insecurity and other challenges facing residents.
One of the suspended lawmakers, Aliyu Ango Kagara, also accused Governor Dauda Lawal of political betrayal, arguing that the governor’s earlier defection to the APC had raised expectations that the disagreement between the governor and the lawmakers would be resolved.
“The governor decamped to our party, APC, thinking that everything would be alright, but the reverse is the case,” Kagara said.
He alleged that the lawmakers were denied reinstatement despite the governor’s movement into the APC.
Kagara also claimed that some of the lawmakers had gone for about 32 months without receiving salaries, allowances and other entitlements.
However, the Chairman of the Zamfara State House of Assembly Committee on Information, Shamsu Hassan Basko, disputed some of the claims and said the number of lawmakers who resigned was seven, not eight as had been reported.
Basko, who said he was initially part of the suspended group before returning to the House, said he had received his outstanding salaries and entitlements.
“I returned to my duty. I was paid all my pending entitlements and salaries for all the months by the governor,” he said.
He also denied allegations that the suspended lawmakers had gone 32 months without salaries and allowances.
According to Basko, the political development was significant for former Zamfara Governor Abdul’aziz Yari, particularly because the departure involved a lawmaker from his political constituency.
“Yes, in politics, you don’t want to lose even a single person, and it’s a big blow to Yari,” Basko said.
He nevertheless expressed confidence that the development would not prevent the APC from remaining politically competitive in the state.
APC Says It Has Not Been Officially Notified
The Zamfara State APC said it had not yet received official notification of the lawmakers’ resignation.
The party’s Publicity Secretary, Ibrahim Danmadamin Birnin Magaji, said the APC had only seen the resignation letters circulating on social media.
“We are still waiting for their correspondence from their respective political wards after reaching their local government executives, which would later be forwarded to us,” he said.
He added that the party would be able to respond appropriately after receiving the official correspondence.
More Members Leave APC
The lawmakers’ resignation follows another political realignment in Zamfara, where hundreds of APC members reportedly defected to the NDC.
The group, led by Hajiya Hadiza Liman under the Voters Association of Zamfara State, was said to have members drawn from the 147 political wards across the state’s 14 local government areas.
Liman accused the state government and APC leadership of failing to adequately address the concerns of party supporters.
She also alleged that supporters who worked for Governor Lawal’s emergence had been sidelined after he became governor.
The NDC subsequently directed the defectors to return to their respective wards and register with the party.
Yari’s Home State Faces New Political Realignment
The latest developments are significant because Zamfara is the home state of Senator Abdul’aziz Yari, who currently serves as Director-General of the APC Presidential Campaign Council.
Yari, a former governor of the state, has been involved in efforts to mobilise support for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu ahead of the 2027 presidential election.
The developments have, however, highlighted the internal political tensions within the Zamfara APC, where Yari, Governor Dauda Lawal and former Governor Bello Matawalle have each maintained significant political networks.
Lawal defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the APC in March, while Matawalle, who previously served as governor on the PDP platform, is now the Minister of State for Defence.
The three political figures have continued to operate within the APC, but disagreements over party structures, political influence and reconciliation have remained a subject of discussion among stakeholders.
The latest defections have therefore raised questions about the ability of the different political camps to coordinate effectively ahead of the 2027 elections.
Political Analysts Differ on Impact
Associate Professor and public affairs commentator Babayo Sule attributed the lawmakers’ defection largely to political interests, arguing that politicians often realign when they believe the political environment is changing.
He suggested that issues such as denial of return tickets and dissatisfaction with internal party arrangements could have influenced the lawmakers’ decision.
However, Professor Hassan Saliu, a Professor of Political Science and International Relations at the University of Ilorin, cautioned against interpreting the defections as evidence that the APC had lost Zamfara.
Saliu said the development showed that some members were dissatisfied with the party but noted that their current political decisions might not necessarily determine their behaviour during the 2027 general elections.
He urged the APC to examine the grievances of the affected members and take steps to prevent the internal disagreements from widening.
For now, the seven lawmakers have not publicly announced their next political destination.
Their next move could provide further insight into the emerging political realignment in Zamfara as political parties position themselves for the 2027 elections.
