Shinkafi: Suspended Zamfara Lawmakers Who Quit APC Are Not Yari’s Allies

A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Dr Sani Abdullahi Shinkafi, has dismissed claims linking Senator Abdul’aziz Abubakar Yari to eight suspended members of the Zamfara State House of Assembly who recently resigned from the ruling party.

In a press statement dated October 10, 2026, Shinkafi said the lawmakers were not political allies of Yari, the senator representing Zamfara West and a former governor of the state. He insisted that the former governor had made efforts to resolve the dispute that led to their suspension.

He said Yari and other APC stakeholders had attempted to broker a peaceful resolution between the suspended lawmakers and the leadership of the state assembly. However, the efforts failed because the assembly leadership refused to lift the suspension and had initiated criminal proceedings against the legislators.

The eight 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; Bashar Bello, representing Bungudu West; and Bashar Aliyu, representing Gummi I.

According to Shinkafi, the lawmakers were suspended on February 26, 2024, over allegations of gross misconduct, conspiracy, mischief, contempt of the House, and convening an illegal sitting in violation of the assembly’s standing orders.

He said the dispute had persisted despite efforts to find a political solution, leaving the affected legislators without salaries, allowances, and other entitlements.

Shinkafi alleged that the withholding of their remuneration had caused financial difficulties for the lawmakers, prompting Yari to provide financial assistance and settle outstanding bank loans on which they had defaulted.

“I passionately appealed to the House leadership and Governor Dauda Lawal for a political solution and payment of their salaries and entitlements, but the House leadership remains adamant on their suspension,” he said.

He added that the affected lawmakers had petitioned the House of Representatives Committee on Public Petitions to intervene in the dispute and persuade the state assembly and government to reinstate them and pay their accumulated entitlements.

Shinkafi argued that the lawmakers’ political backgrounds further demonstrated that they did not constitute a bloc loyal to Yari.

He said five of the eight legislators were elected on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2023 general election before defecting to the APC.

The remaining three, according to the statement, were elected on the APC platform.

He specifically rejected claims linking Ibrahim Tukur Bakura and Aliyu Ango Kagara to Yari politically, citing their political histories to support his position.

Shinkafi said Bakura was nominated to the state assembly in 2020 on the PDP platform following the death of the former member representing the constituency. Bakura subsequently defected to the APC in 2021 alongside former Governor Bello Matawalle.

He described Bakura as a political ally of Matawalle, the current Minister of State for Defence, rather than Yari.

Regarding Kagara, Shinkafi said the lawmaker entered politics through a friend who had served as Yari’s private personal secretary during his tenure as governor. However, he maintained that this connection did not make Kagara a political ally of the former governor.

Shinkafi also referred to separate controversies involving Kagara, including a decision by the assembly in January 2025 to declare his seat vacant over his prolonged absence from legislative sittings. He said Kagara was not among the eight lawmakers suspended in February 2024.

The APC chieftain said expectations of a resolution increased after Governor Lawal defected from the PDP to the APC in March 2026, bringing the principal political actors in the dispute into the same party.

According to him, Yari convened a meeting of APC stakeholders to discuss the party’s political direction following Lawal’s defection and address the lingering suspension of the lawmakers.

Shinkafi said he urged Yari to engage the governor to resolve the dispute amicably and promote unity within the party.

However, he said the efforts failed to produce the desired outcome, despite Yari’s financial assistance to the suspended legislators and his continued behind-the-scenes attempts to broker peace.

He also criticised those blaming Yari for failing to resolve the matter, describing the accusations as politically motivated attempts to undermine the former governor’s standing within the APC.

Shinkafi also dismissed allegations circulating on social media that Yari was sponsoring the African Democratic Congress (ADC) governorship candidate in Zamfara State, Hon. Bilyaminu Yusuf Shinkafi.

He described the allegations as false and mischievous, calling them part of a campaign of calumny allegedly orchestrated by Yari’s political opponents.

According to him, the ADC candidate has family ties to Yari but is not being sponsored by the former governor.

Shinkafi explained that Bilyaminu Yusuf Shinkafi had previously been an APC aspirant for the Zamfara North Senatorial District seat ahead of the 2027 elections but was not cleared by the party’s screening committee.

He said the candidate subsequently defected to the ADC to pursue his governorship ambition.

The statement further noted that Bilyaminu had served as a commissioner under former Governor Bello Matawalle before resigning following his appointment as a federal commissioner in the National Assembly Commission.

Shinkafi described him as a political ally of Matawalle and argued that his family relationship with Yari should not be interpreted as evidence that the former governor was financing his political ambition.

The APC chieftain expressed confidence that Yari would play a significant role in President Bola Tinubu’s re-election campaign, citing his political experience and influence in Zamfara State.

He described the former governor as a strategist capable of mobilising support for the APC and promoting the administration’s Renewed Hope Agenda ahead of the 2027 presidential election.

Shinkafi also rejected suggestions that political disagreements and defections had weakened the APC in Zamfara, insisting that the party remained united and strong under Yari’s leadership.

He urged Nigerians to disregard what he described as fake news targeting the senator and the APC in the state.