Nine Zamfara lawmakers leave APC over security and welfare grievances

Nine members of the Zamfara State House of Assembly have defected from the All Progressives Congress, citing insecurity and what they described as insufficient attention to residents’ welfare. The lawmakers are Aliyu Kagara of Talata Mafara South, Muktar Nasir of Kaura Namoda North, Faruk Dosara Musa of Maradun I, Basiru Bello of Bungudu West, Bashir Masama of Bukkuyum North, Ibrahim Tukur of Bakura, Nasiru Abdullahi of Maru North, Yusuf Anka of Anka and Bashar Aliyu of Gummi I. Kagara said the lawmakers’ disagreement with Governor Dauda Lawal centred on security challenges affecting the state and the condition of its people.

He said they raised the issue in the House, but that this did not go down well with the governor. According to Kagara, the dispute resulted in the lawmakers’ suspension and was followed by their defection from the APC. His account linked the move directly to the lawmakers’ attempts to raise security concerns through the Assembly.

Kagara also said joining the APC had not resolved the lawmakers’ grievances. He alleged that some party leaders had acted against them and denied them a fair hearing. The source material does not specify the lawmakers’ new political affiliation beyond identifying their departure from the APC, nor does it include a response from Governor Lawal or the party to the allegations.

The defections come amid the lawmakers’ stated concerns about insecurity and public welfare in Zamfara. Their account indicates that disagreements over how those issues were handled affected relations between the Assembly members and the governor before the political move.