I don’t give a damn if APC loses in Zamfara – APC Senator

I I don’t give a damn if APC loses in Zamfara– APC Senator

A senator, Kabiru Marafa (APC, Zamfara State), has blamed his party, the All Progressives Congress (APC) for the current crisis rocking it in Zamfara State

Mr Marafa also said he does not give a damn if APC loses elections in Zamfara State.

He accused the party of controlling the actions of its members since the inception of the 8th Senate.

His statement comes few days after he hailed the judgment of a Federal High Court in Abuja which upheld the Independent National Electoral Commission, (INEC’s) rejection of Zamfara APC candidates.

THE ‘CRISIS’

INEC had last October said it would not allow the ruling APC to field candidates in Zamfara because the party failed to conduct primaries before the deadline stipulated.

This was because the party failed to meet the October 7 deadline for conducting primaries to elect candidates for the elections.

Some members of the APC in the state approached the court challenging the decision of INEC. They argued that the APC conducted primaries which produced current governor Abdulaziz Yari as a senatorial candidate and his commissioner of finance, Shehu Idris, as the governorship candidate, among others.

PREMIUM TIMES reported how two courts gave conflicting rulings on whether INEC can accept candidates presented by the APC for Zamfara elections.

A Federal High Court in Abuja ruled that the governing APC did not conduct primaries in the state and should not be allowed to present candidates for the electoral contest

It said INEC acted within its powers by refusing to accept the list of candidates from the Zamfara State chapter of the APC.

However, a High Court sitting in Gusau, Zamfara State, on Friday ruled that the governing APC actually conducted primaries in the state and should be allowed to present candidates for the electoral contest.

The Zamfara court specifically directed the electoral commission to accept candidates from the party for Zamfara State in the forthcoming elections.

CRISIS STARTED WITH APC – MARAFA

Addressing journalists at the National Assembly on Tuesday, the lawmaker explained that the APC, from beginning, had told them who to vote for.

“There’s a limit of my loyalty to the Senate can go. My loyalty first and foremost is to my God then to my people. APC is not a religion. So if APC decides the worst candidate is best than other candidate from anywhere, I will respect them and expect them to do that because they’re in politics to field the candidates and win elections. But that cannot be true to me.

“Even if APC lose in Zamfara state, I don’t give a damn. The crisis that we are in today started with the APC itself. When we assumed the 8th Senate, APC said these are the people we want you to vote as your leader. Some of us felt that this is the property of APC.

“The same people we are fighting today reneged, said they won’t do it and that was the beginning of this crisis. APC asked us to vote Ahmad Lawan as President of the Senate and we stood hell bent that APC must have its way and this people said no. They acted in disobedience.

“Some of us are closer to Saraki than many of them but we obeyed the party and today the people that made us to take that line of action are silent. Nobody cares about us. Nobody is talking. Some of them gang up. There is a massive gang up to all of us today,” he said.

The lawmaker went ahead to mention members of the party who, he alleged, attempted to sabotage President Muhammadu Buhari and other leaders of the party.

He also accused them of instigating the murder, rape and kidnapping going on in Zamfara State.

“Like Senator Adamu Aliero, he is one of the people that did all the ground work to make sure that Ahmad Lawan lose and today he is at the forefront of fuelling this crisis in Zamfara because he is a contractor there and he and his co-travellers, the body of former governors and everything.

“They are using their kinsmen in the government circle to ensure that our people are enslaved, maimed, killed, our women are raped, our children are orphaned all because they want to continue to steal the resources of Zamfara. We are not afraid of them, we are going to face them and challenge them. If God is the God of justice, we will surmount them.

“Even Buhari, some of them sabotaged him, all of them that are in this, gang up as governor of Kebbi under ANPP where Buhari contested last time as president. He sabotaged ANPP, sided with Obasanjo and while Buhari was licking his wounds, Aliero was there cutting victory cake of PDP. These are the people we have as leaders and we have a duty to fight them,” he said.

When asked if “these governors” are still in the state or still in the Senate, he said there are “some in the Senate.”

“Like I said, we have them outside. At the appropriate time if you want to ask me I will name them. I am not afraid of anybody. Just like I named this one, he is the arrow head of all the things that are happening now, we know.

“So, the government there (in Zamfara) has failed woefully. The State House of Assembly is worse than toilet paper. The only institution that we as the people of Zamfara are proud of, is the judicial system and look at what they did. The judge did what even a primary school pupil if assigned to adjudicate over this case will not do. The owners of this thing came before you, APC said they didn’t do this election,” he explained.

 Gov Abdulaziz Yari of Zamfara State State House Correspondents after meeting with Vice President Yemi Osinbajo at the Presidential Villa in Abuja on Monday (3/12/2018) 06258/3/12/2018/Sumaila Ibrahim/ICE/NAN
Mr Marafa called for the resignation of the Zamfara State governor, Abdulaziz Yari.

He also said Mr Yari should be prosecuted for treason.

“No compromise. Let him resign as governor, let me resign as senator and let us go and meet the people for elections.

“If he gets 10 per cent of what I get, I will resign. So what else do I need. I think I am overripe to die if you want to kill me. They will say be died at the age of almost 60. I think it is a very good number. What I am afraid only is how I die. I don’t want to die telling lies.

“I don’t want to die procuring false and illegal judgements. If you come with that kind of thing, I will run. I don’t want to die, spending security votes when I resign as chief security officer.

“But if it is on the account of telling the truth and standing by the truth and on the truth, I don’t care what happens. I pray may God take my soul while I am in good service not what we are seeing today.

“To me like I said here, Abdul’Aziz is supposed to be prosecuted for treason because what they did was treason and if allowed to stand, then we are laying a very bad precedence in this country. A day will come when maybe a president will do a similar thing.”

The senator said President Buhari is pained by what is happening in Zamfara and he will want to see a change in leadership in Zamfara.

While hoping that the president shares the same view with him, Mr Marafa said it will be better to have another party in Zamfara than to have bad ones from APC just because APC wants to win.

Mr Marafa has been the governor’s political foe overtime.
Both men have constantly accused each other of being responsible for the unrest in the troubled state.

He had in June, declared his intention to vie for the governorship slot. He said he joined the race due to “numerous calls from members of the party in the 14 local government areas of the state”.

The lawmaker had pledged to fight corruption, injustice and provide leadership to stimulate the growth of the state.

He also pledged to provide security as well as look at the state’s legal system to make it conform with the true teachings of Islam.

The state has been affected by violence in recent months with armed bandits killing many people, kidnapping others and destroying several houses.

The lawmaker has continuously blamed the state governor for the high rate of i