Sacking Sirajo Garba will implode APC in Zamfara – Sen. Marafa warns Mala Buni

By Ikechukwu Okaforadi

Senator Kabiru Marafa, who represented Zamfara Central in the 8th Senate, has warned the chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) caretaker committee, Mai Mala Buni, not to sack Garba Sirajo as Chairman of the party in the state, saying that such decision will only lead to total collapse of the party in the state.
Speaking to Peoples Daily correspondent exclusively yesterday, senator Marafa who dismissed the report that the APC caretaker committee has directed the state chairman of the party loyal to former Governor Abdulazeez Yari, to sack Garba Sirajo from the party, said if it is true, it implies that Buni caretaker committee has not learnt from the Adams Oshiomole crisis in the APC.
He said he has no plans to leave the APC in Zamfara, having suffered with other stakeholders to build the party from formation to date. Marafa however denied that Abdulazeez Yari is now incharge of APC in the state, saying his faction is in control of the party structures in Zamfara.
“It is not the way to go, we are on ground in Zamfara state. Forget about what anybody is doing in Abuja, and I can tell you that nobody can challenge us in Zamfara state”, Marafa said.
Speaking further, he said he only saw a ‘fake news’ in the media which purported to have sacked the chairman of the party in the state, saying nobody has communicated to him or to the chairman of his faction.
On why his faction refused to withdraw the court cases filed in the High Court Abuja as directed by President Muhammadu Buhari during the party’s National Executive Council (NEC) meeting, he said the suit had been in court since 2018, adding that it was even President Buhari who instructed that aggrieved members should seek redress in Court and not resort to violence.
Marafa who specifically asked Mai Mala Buni to comply with the High Court Abuja ruling which said that nobody should parade himself as chairman of the party in the state, explained that even though Yari faction has appealed the ruling, his faction can still challenge the appeal judgement at the Supreme Court if it is not satisfied with the Appeal Court judgement.
According to him, the only way out of the APC crisis in Zamfara is for the Buni led Caretaker Committee to set up an interim management committee in Zamfara State, pending when there is an amicable solution to the issues on ground.
He said the other option is for the caretaker committee of APC to conduct fresh Congress in Zamfara state to set up a new leadership of the party that will unite the factions.
However, he refused to rule out possibilities of reconciliation in the state chapter of APC, saying all options are on the table. He said concession depends on the options on the table, adding that nothing is cast on stone, as justice is the only answer in the Zamfara APC crisis.
He explained that politics is about people, hence his faction is ready for dialogue to look at all options the other camp is projecting. According to him, his faction is not fighting because they wish to suffocate the APC in Zamfara, but because Yari wanted to kill their career.