Eight suspended members of the Zamfara State House of Assembly who recently resigned from the All Progressives Congress (APC) have met with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu at the Presidential Villa, where they reportedly reaffirmed their support for the President and the ruling party.
The lawmakers were led to the Presidential Villa by the Minister of State for Defence and former Zamfara State Governor, Bello Matawalle, an APC chieftain.
In a statement issued on Monday, Matawalle’s Personal Assistant on Media, Ahmad Dan-Wudil, said the lawmakers expressed their continued support for Tinubu and their commitment to the APC.
According to the statement, Matawalle pledged to integrate the lawmakers into the Tinubu Again Movement (TAM), where they would work collectively to support the President and other APC candidates ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The lawmakers are 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.
The lawmakers were suspended on February 26, 2024, over allegations of gross misconduct, conspiracy and holding an illegal sitting. Their suspension was extended on May 13, 2026.
The Speaker of the Zamfara State House of Assembly, Bilyaminu Ismail Moriki, had maintained that the suspension preceded the lawmakers’ political decisions and stemmed from disciplinary issues within the House.
In their resignation letters, the lawmakers cited alleged injustice, disunity among APC stakeholders in Zamfara State and the handling of insecurity as reasons for leaving the party.
Meanwhile, APC chieftain Sani Shinkafi clarified that five of the eight lawmakers were elected in 2023 on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) before defecting to the APC, while the remaining three won their seats on the APC platform.
Shinkafi also dismissed claims linking the lawmakers to Senator Abdul’aziz Yari, describing the reports as “mischievous and sponsored”.
