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, insisting that the lawmakers are not the senator’s political allies.
Shinkafi, in a statement issued on Saturday, October 10, 2026, said the lawmakers’ political backgrounds and affiliations did not support claims that they belonged to Yari’s political camp.
He also attributed their decision to leave the APC, in part, to the party’s alleged refusal to give them tickets for the 2027 elections and the failure to resolve their prolonged suspension from the State Assembly.
The APC chieftain, who identified Yari as the party’s leader in Zamfara State and Director General of the Tinubu/Shettima Presidential Campaign Council, said efforts to resolve the dispute amicably had failed despite interventions by the former governor and other party stakeholders.
According to him, the leadership of the State Assembly had refused to lift the lawmakers’ suspension, while criminal proceedings instituted against them remained part of the protracted dispute.
Shinkafi listed the affected lawmakers as 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.
He said five of the eight legislators were elected on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2023 general elections before subsequently defecting to the APC.
According to Shinkafi, their political histories demonstrate that they should not be portrayed as members of Yari’s political camp.
The eight lawmakers were suspended on February 26, 2024, over allegations of gross misconduct, conspiracy, mischief, contempt of the House and convening an unauthorised sitting in violation of the Assembly’s Standing Orders.
The Speaker of the House, Bilyaminu Ismail Moriki, had alleged that the lawmakers’ actions went beyond procedural breaches, citing alleged forceful entry into the offices of the Clerk and Sergeant at Arms and the destruction of public property.
The Assembly subsequently initiated legal proceedings against them.
The dispute also generated political tensions after some of the suspended lawmakers reportedly criticised Governor Dauda Lawal over the handling of insecurity in their constituencies.
Shinkafi said Yari had made efforts to broker peace between the lawmakers and the Assembly leadership, including providing financial assistance to the suspended legislators after their salaries, allowances and other entitlements were withheld.
He said the former governor also helped settle bank loans that some of the lawmakers had defaulted on while struggling financially.
According to him, he personally appealed to the Assembly leadership and Governor Lawal to pursue a political solution, reinstate the lawmakers and pay their outstanding entitlements.
However, he said the efforts did not yield the desired result, despite the political realignment that followed Lawal’s defection from the PDP to the APC in March 2026.
Shinkafi said the governor’s defection had raised expectations that the dispute would be resolved because the principal political actors involved were now members of the same party.
He added that Yari convened an APC stakeholders’ meeting to discuss the party’s position in the state and the lingering Assembly crisis, but efforts to secure a settlement proved unsuccessful.
The suspended legislators had also petitioned the House of Representatives Committee on Public Petitions, seeking intervention over their suspension and unpaid remuneration.
The APC chieftain also rejected social media claims that Yari was sponsoring the African Democratic Congress (ADC) governorship candidate in Zamfara State, Hon. Bilyaminu Yusuf Shinkafi, describing the allegation as false.
He argued that the claims were politically motivated and intended to undermine Yari’s reputation and influence ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Shinkafi explained that Bilyaminu Yusuf Shinkafi was related to Yari’s wife and other prominent political figures, adding that the ADC candidate had previously sought the APC ticket for Zamfara North Senatorial District before moving to the ADC.
He further stated that the candidate had served as a commissioner under former Zamfara Governor Bello Matawalle before being appointed a federal commissioner in the National Assembly Commission.
According to Shinkafi, the candidate’s political history and family connections should not be interpreted as evidence that Yari was sponsoring his governorship ambition.
The statement, however, did not provide independent documentary evidence to substantiate the competing claims concerning the alleged sponsorship.
Shinkafi maintained that the APC remained united in Zamfara under Yari’s leadership, despite the dispute involving the suspended lawmakers and their subsequent resignation from the party.
He also expressed confidence in Yari’s role as Director General of the Tinubu/Shettima Presidential Campaign Council, saying the former governor would work towards President Bola Tinubu’s re-election bid in 2027.
He urged party members and the public to disregard what he described as misinformation about Yari and the APC in Zamfara.
The developments come amid political realignments within the state ahead of the 2027 general elections, with the suspended lawmakers’ departure from the APC adding another dimension to the party’s internal challenges.
