Zamfara: Three APC Executives Sue Party Over November 11 Suspension

Following their attendance at a Wamban Shinkafi Democratic Front stakeholders meeting on November 11, three leaders of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Zamfara State have petitioned the State High Court in Gusau to contest their suspension from the party.

Babangida Aliyu Shinkafi, the APC chairman of Shinkafi South Ward, Kabiru Ibrahim, the APC Shinkafi Local Government’s welfare secretary, and Ibrahim DD Kurya, the local government’s advocate for people with disabilities, filed the lawsuit.

They are suing the APC, Alhaji Ibrahim Bama Shinkafi, the APC Chairman of Shinkafi Local Government, and Alhaji Tukur Danfulani Maikatako Gusau, the APC Chairman of Zamfara State.

In addition to declaring that any attempt to suspend, expel, intimidate, harass, or terminate their membership is “unconstitutional, illegal, unlawful, null and void,” the suspended party leaders are requesting that the court proclaim them to be legitimate members of the APC.

Yushau Abdullahi Mada, the chairman of the Wamban Shinkafi Democratic Front, stated in a statement that the plaintiffs are also pursuing:

a permanent injunction prohibiting the defendants or their representatives from taking any other action to harass, suspend, or expel them.

an order requiring the status quo to be maintained and stopping any acts pertaining to their suspension while the matter is being decided.

The disgruntled executives claimed that their terms were still in effect and that they were legitimately elected during the 2022 APC conferences.

They identified themselves as devoted followers of Wamban Shinkafi Democratic Front leader Dr. Sani Abdullahi Shinkafi.

They claimed that, in contravention of the APC constitution, Shinkafi Local Government APC chairman Ibrahim Bama Shinkafi verbally suspended them without providing them with a written inquiry, a valid explanation, or a chance to defend themselves.

They said that all internal attempts to halt the suspension had failed, forcing them to look for judicial intervention.

Bello Idris Galadi and Associates filed their lawsuit on November 14, 2025.

Mada pointed out that since the Peoples Democratic Party defeated the Zamfara APC in the governorship elections in 2019 and 2023, the party has continued to be in disarray.

He attributed recurrent crises to the marginalization of party leaders, arbitrary suspensions, expulsions, and the imposition of candidates.

In order to discuss unresolved issues, he said, party stakeholders convened on November 1 at Talata Mafara, the rural residence of former governor and Zamfara APC leader Abdul’aziz Abubakar Yari. Elders from the party as well as representatives from the state, local, and ward governments attended the gathering.

“The meeting unanimously decided to support Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu as the party’s consensus candidate for the 2027 presidential election,” he stated. In accordance with the Electoral Act of 2022, INEC rules and regulations, and APC electoral standards, it also decided that the party would not force any candidates for elections and guaranteed free, fair, and credible congresses and primaries for all candidates.

However, stakeholders supported a consensus option in which all candidates willingly resign in favor of a specific candidate, in which case delegates would elect the candidate by affirmation.

In light of this, on November 11, 2025, the Wamban Shinkafi Democratic Front, a group founded by former All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) national secretary and governorship candidate in Zamfara State, Dr. Sani Abdullahi Shinkafi, a current APC chieftain with structures throughout the state’s 14 local government areas, 147 electoral wards, and all polling places, held a stakeholders meeting where it unanimously adopted Senator Abdul’aziz Abubakar Yari as the APC leader in Zamfara State and opposed the imposition of candidates in subsequent elections, which caused the PDP to defeat the party in the 2019 and 2023 gubernatorial polls.

In order to bolster the party in the state, it is clear that the Wamban Shinkafi Democratic Front has been leading the way in inclusive politics in Zamfara State alongside President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda. Elections cannot be won by a fragmented party, as the Zamfara State APC has demonstrated.

“We were shocked to learn that some members of the party loyal to Wamban Shinkafi, including Sirajo Yusuf Wali, Birnin Yero Ward Publicity Secretary, Hon. Babangida Aliyu Shinkafi, Chairman Shinkafi Ward, Kabiru Ibrahim, Welfare Secretary, Shinkafi Local Government, and Ibrahim DD Kurya, representing People With Disabilities (PWD), were arbitrarily suspended without following the party constitution.

“It is unfair to penalize other party members for attending a stakeholders meeting that the party has duly called for its advancement.

“The alleged suspension was ordered by Tukur Umar Danfulani Maikatako Gusau, the chairman of the Zamfara State APC, who was instructed by Bello Matawalle, the Minister of State for Defense, who also called a stakeholder meeting where Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu was chosen as the consensus candidate for the 2027 presidential election.

“As the temple of justice and the last chance for all those who have been wronged, our members who were wrongfully suspended must seek justice from the court.

“Wamban Shinkafi Democratic Front is steadfast in its support of democracy, the rule of law, due process, and the success of the APC in upcoming elections in Zamfara State.” The actions of critics and regressive forces that are detrimental to our great party will not divert us.

“Staying action and waiting for a court of competent jurisdiction to decide the matter is in the best interests of justice for all parties involved in the lawsuit.

“Therefore, we implore party members to unite and cooperate in order to create a more robust and dynamic APC and a prosperous Zamfara State.”