Everybody Knows There Were No Primaries In Zamfara, Marafa Insists

Kabiru Marafa, the lawmaker representing Zamfara Central senatorial district, says it is public knowledge that primaries were not conducted in Zamfara State.

He also commended the recent ruling of the Court of Appeal, nullifying the list of candidates presented by the faction of Abdulaziz Yari, Governor of Zamfara State.

Speaking with newsmen over the weekend in Abuja, Marafa said for Yari to take such a position in a state that practises Sharia law is an "anathema", and prayed that God would forgive the Governor for what he has done.

His words: "The truth is, there were no primaries in the state. The world knows; Allah knows; the angel knows; everybody knows.

“And I want to use this opportunity to thank the President of the Court of Appeal for an excellent job she did. You know, we were quite apprehensive from the beginning, fearing that we might not get justice. But they have done justice to that case and they have made judiciary proud and the people of Nigeria proud. If that has not been done, I was afraid where we were heading to.

“I read their judgement and I was really very proud of the way it was written. That is how judgments are written, not the way the state judgement was written.

"A leader telling lies in a state like Zamfara that practises Sharia is an anathema, and leaders deserve prayers from their followers to avert God anger. I pray, may God forgive him for what he has done, because to us, God has paid us immensely."

In his remarks on why he has refused to let the matter go seeing as he is a member of APC, he added: “Is the national leadership of the APC equal to Nigeria? The answer is ‘No.’ We are talking about the laws of Nigeria and not talking about personalities. No matter how big you are, you cannot circumvent the law. You cannot break the law by your right hand and then use your left hand to say you want to amend it.

“You cannot commit a criminality and then approach the court and say, ‘Court, legalise it for me.’ You cannot commit criminality and then hide under the umbrella of party and now say that ‘because the party is going to lose.’ Who is party? The people have the party.

“It is not the prince in Zamfara; it is not the stones; it is not the land; it is not the roads; it is not the wells or anything in the state; it is the people of the state that have the party.

“So, if the people are disenfranchised, if the people are cheated, we all have a duty to rise up above party lines. After all, I came to the Senate as an ANPP member, today I’m APC. Most of the people you see today talking as APC, they were something else before.

“So, it’s not about APC for God’s sake. The National Chairman of this party was seen condemning and saying that primaries are not supposed to be conducted by state governors, or by state party chairmen. You can’t just change overnight. I am trying to speak the truth, even against myself. And that is exactly what I did when it happened."