Former Zamfara senator and ex-All Progressives Congress (APC) chieftain, Kabiru Marafa, has declared that President Bola Tinubu should not expect the same level of support from the Northwest in 2027, warning that he would personally mobilise to cut one million votes from the president’s tally.
Speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Monday, Marafa accused Tinubu of betraying loyal party members by entrenching what he described as a corrupt “reward system” in the APC.
He claimed the president sidelined the Northwest, despite the region’s heavy contribution to his 2023 victory.
“Mark my words, I am going to deduct one million votes out of Mr. President’s votes that he got in 2023. I am going to do it, I am going to work for it, and by the special grace of God, I’m going to win that,” Marafa said.
He dismissed those who tagged him a “lightweight” in politics, insisting that 2027 would reveal who truly holds political influence.
The former lawmaker also criticised Tinubu’s handling of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), alleging that the president shielded former Zamfara governor Bello Matawalle from accountability by sacking the anti-graft agency’s chairman.
According to Marafa, Tinubu rode to power on promises to reform APC’s internal system and reward loyal members, but instead “institutionalised the monkey system” he had pledged to eradicate.
He warned that the Northwest would not forget what he called “selective appointments and policies” that heavily favoured the Southwest at the expense of the region that delivered bloc votes in 2023.
“The people of the Northwest in particular are not going to forget this,” he said.
Marafa’s remarks come barely 18 months into Tinubu’s presidency, signaling growing discontent among some of his former allies in the ruling party ahead of the 2027 general elections.
