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Tag: Kabiru Marafa

  • Senator Marafa: The leprous finger that withered away

    Senator Marafa: The leprous finger that withered away

    On August 29, 2025, news broke that former Senator Kabiru Marafa, who represented Zamfara Central Senatorial District from 2011 to 2019, and his loyalists have dumped the All Progressives Congress (APC), with claims that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is a “use and dump” politician, rising insecurity in Zamfara State, and the neglect of Zamfara in political appointments under this administration.

    While some might view this as a disturbing development, any keen and objective observer of Zamfara State politics will celebrate his exit, as the most disruptive and self-serving politician in the party has finally left.

    In a contest driven by ego and selfish interests, Kabiru Marafa ensured that his party, the APC, lost the governorship and other elective offices in the state.

    His stance was clear: “If I can’t have it, no one will.” He brought down the roof on everyone, disregarding the monumental damage and cost to his party’s political fortunes.

    It is well-known that in 2018, Senator Marafa ran for the governorship nomination of the APC in Zamfara State, but his bid was marred by internal conflicts within the party. The APC in Zamfara was divided into two factions: one led by Marafa and the other by then Governor Abdul’aziz Abubakar Yari. Each faction organized its own primary elections, leading to a dispute over the legitimacy of the process.

    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) recognized the candidates chosen by Yari’s faction, but Marafa argued that no valid primaries had taken place.

    He insisted that the party’s internal process was flawed and that the primaries organized by Yari’s faction were illegal.

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    This disagreement prompted Marafa to challenge the primaries, ultimately taking the case to the Supreme Court of Nigeria.

    On May 24, 2019, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of Marafa’s position, declaring that the primaries conducted by Yari’s faction were indeed illegal.

    Consequently, the court’s decision invalidated the election of all APC candidates in Zamfara for the 2019 general elections.

    As a result, the APC’s votes in Zamfara were rendered void because the party failed to present valid candidates due to the lack of properly conducted primaries.

    In the lead-up to the 2023 general elections, Marafa quickly allied with his former political rival from the 2019 election cycle in a bid to realize his ambition of becoming governor.

    This resulted in a crisis between two factions: one led by Governor Bello Matawalle, who had defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the APC a few months before the start of post-election activities, and another led by former Governor Abdul’aziz Yari and Senator Kabiru Marafa.

    The crisis within the APC deepened when the then-National Caretaker Committee Chairman, Alhaji Mai Mala Buni, visited the state to welcome Matawalle to the party and announced that Matawalle was automatically the leader of the party in the state.

    Thanks to effective leadership and political maturity displayed by Matawalle, the implosion of the state chapter of the party and a repeat of the 2019 fate were averted, albeit at a cost. Matawalle lost his re-election bid, but the APC remained a united front in Zamfara.

    Marafa’s brief association with the Northern Elders Forum and his harsh criticism of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu are not rooted in northern nationalism but rather in a desperate attempt to maintain political relevance.

    It is reasonable to speculate that Marafa believed he was a frontrunner for a ministerial slot from Zamfara State, but his hopes were dashed when President Tinubu nominated H.E. Bello Matawalle, and appointed him as Minister of State for Defence.

    This appointment clearly undermines Marafa’s and his allies’ claims of neglect of Zamfara in political appointments.

    It is also noteworthy that Mr. Yazeed Shehu Danfulani was appointed as the Chairman of the Nigerian Agricultural Insurance Corporation.

    This appointment is not only political but also strategic, as Zamfara prides itself on farming, with the state slogan, “Farming is our pride.”

    Addressing the allegations of militarization during the recent by-elections, it should be noted that Zamfara, given its security challenges, could justifiably be considered a militarized zone.

    To any objective Nigerian, the increased deployment of military personnel was intended to ensure the safety and well-being of the electorate, as these areas are within a hotbed of banditry and terrorism.

    While Zamfara remains in the news for security-related matters, it is on record that the Bola Ahmed Tinubu-led administration has neutralized over 20 bandit leaders declared wanted in the last two years.

    This marks a clear departure from the situation in 2023, when the Muhammadu Buhari-led administration made insufficient efforts to secure the state, heavily militarized the 2023 governorship election, and failed to capture, try, or neutralize a single bandit leader.

    In my opinion, Marafa’s exit from the APC represents the self-elimination of a disruptive element from its ranks.

    • Abdulrahman Alkali a social commentator, writes from Gusua.

  • The shame of Zamfara’s zig-zag

    The old squirrel, according to an ancient Edo riddle, habitually sips from the gourd of iniquities. His lineage is forbidden from eating the palm kernel near its warren. But out of ancestral curse, the duplicitous mammal soon finds himself in an abominable web. Not only is he caught mating a neighbour’s maiden, he, forever triggered by opium-fueled phallus, is also found romancing her menopausal mother. Shattered by the unthinkable tale and another shock discovery of the infernal powder, his much-besotted psychedelic bride flees abroad with a broken heart.

    Then, the wrinkled squirrel is left to gnash his scanty teeth smeared with opium, more in mortal dread of his darkest secret being uncovered by the entire community.

    It will hardly be difficult to recognize the sepulchral footprints of the proverbial squirrel in the political farce currently unfolding in Zamfara State. Taboo committed by a few evil men have brought dark plaques to the acclaimed “Home of Agricultural Products”.  The fruit of a seed sown in ethical quicksand is surely fated to be bitter indeed.

    Now, just like the fabled squirrel, the ruling APC in Zamfara increasingly faces the prospects of losing its bride – power, by default. At least, going by the Appeal Court judgement of last week voiding the candidature of all its candidates in the March 9 polls in one fell swoop.

    Indeed, no clairvoyance was needed to foretell the sorry outcome of last week. The story we heard originally was that no valid primaries held in Zamfara ab initio. Afraid of democracy even though masquerading as democrat, Governor Abdulaziz Yari wanted the process of producing the candidate to be by affirmation – a euphemism for imposition.

    His arch-rival, Kabiru Marafa, chair of the Senate Committee on Petroleum (Downstream), preferred direct primaries. Enter a stalemate. When Yari, who had already built a reputation as an absentee governor, later brought a list to INEC the commission understandably refused to accept it not only on the grounds that no valid primaries held, but also that the deadline for its submission had already lapsed.

    So, when a counter-narrative later surfaced barely a week to the March 9 polls that the embattled Governor Yari’s anointed would vie for Zamfara governorship on the strength of a sudden curious judgement by a Zamfara court, many were left wondering whether it was Yari’s widely televised threat to ensure those initially standing in his way at the national secretariat of the ruling party end up in body bags or the power of the now ubiquitous dollars that did the magic.

    But let no one lose sight of where precisely the rain began to beat Zamfara in the present circumstance. The bungled primaries of last October by the ruling party actually set off the wider circus where courts in Gusau, Abuja and Sokoto later found themselves fabricating and issuing conflicting orders eventuating in last week’s political novelty in which the supposed “winner by landslide” of the March 9 governorship polls will, alas, not be handed the trophy – the certificate of return.

    Overall, the political mess Zamfara now presents underscores partly the failure of party leadership. When his presidential campaign train stopped in Gusau on February 11, President Muhammadu Buhari had expressed the confidence that the crisis would be resolved before the election. But apparently, the usually aloof PMB underestimated the magnitude of the problem or over-trusted the competence of his underlings to fix things.

    Following a judgement on February 13 by the Sokoto Division of the Court of Appeal dismissing one of the appeals on the ground that the appellant had filed an application of withdrawal, the Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, SAN, entered what would seem a last-minute, self-serving order by asking INEC to postpone the elections in Zamfara (originally scheduled to begin on February 16).

    On the whole, we will never know how much dollars exchanged hands under the table over the Zamfara ticket such that those who ought, to tell the truth, became tongue-tied.

    However, Zamfara is not the only state where the party self-destructed following what appears the collapse of moral authority by the party leadership. The ghost also haunted Imo. In Bauchi, the oxygen mask wangled from the fortuitous “inconclusivity” declared by INEC on March 9 turned out to be grossly inadequate to save APC from being asphyxiated by its own self-contradictions in last week’s re-run.

    The same virus of dollars is easily cited as one of the reasons the party lost Adamawa. Exasperated beyond self-restraint by the shenanigans that transpired in her own home state, the First Lady, Aisha Buhari, dismissed it as a bazaar quite unprecedented in scale and obscenity.

    To begin with, it is a big shame that a certified political leper could be shepherding APC in Zamfara. In saner climes, Yari’s voice should not be heard in this season at all. He is certainly leaving Zamfara worse than he met it in 2011. Even by elementary development indicators like access to portable water, basic education and primary healthcare, the state has remained at the nadir. To say nothing about widespread insecurity with bandits’ murderous siege unabating; such that even the governor himself was sufficiently shaken enough to infamously offer to vacate power recently if that would appease the marauding murderers.

    Neither is there any redeeming feature at personal level. Yari’s garment is undoubtedly soiled indelibly from what a court of competent jurisdiction declared the primitive looting of the state exchequer. In 2017 for example, it was established that a princely sum of N500m looted from Zamfara’s share of the Paris Fund refund was used to offset Yari’s personal loan obtained from First Generation Mortgage Bank Limited.

    Apart from that, an Abuja Federal High Court ordered an interim forfeiture of another $500,000 looted from the Paris refund earlier made by the Federal Government to states as part of a creative measure to bail them out of financial difficulty. Apart from First Generation Mortgage Bank Limited, the name of the other conduit linked to Yari in the pillage was Gosh Projects Limited.

    To be sure, let it however be stressed that the excoriation of Yari’s leadership deficit here is not to make a case for his rival, Marafa, who seems to betray a carnal desperation for power. From experience, desperate politicians are not to be trusted. If the true motivation is service, you don’t begin to act or sound as though your life depended on being elected into power.

    In what evoked the memory of the biblical claimant to the disputed baby before King Solomon’s court, Marafa, by action, did not seem to care if APC was completely decapitated in Zamfara. Like the vulgar “mother” before King Solomon, Marafa had begun to gloat over APC’s defenestration before the curious judgement restating the party few days to the elections. He seems too obsessed with the governor’s perch that he was willing to bury his party and state if the prize eluded him.

    Now, unless the Supreme Court ruled otherwise, the door is already left ajar technically for the runner-up in the March 9 polls (PDP) to simply approach the court for a consequential order to be declared winner of the elections in place of the feuding APC.

    A classic example of a self-inflicted perdition by political prodigals.

     

     

    ‘Buhari, please fish out the greedy emperor’

    The story of a greedy emperor you mentioned in your “Buhari, governors and state debauchery” article on Tuesday is disturbing. Does Kemi (Adeosun) replacing NOI (Ngozi Okonjo Iwuala) tell us who?

    07034994311

    Great piece, Louis. The big question, though, is how do you make this work? Another is: who controls the cash – federal or state? If it’s state, then they, the “Emperors”, as you called them, will still hold the yam and the knife? You know what that means. Nothing changes. The bazaar going on in Abuja is one of the ignoble legacies of the PDP started by the crude narcissist called OBJ.  It’s a “deal” between executive banditry and legislative gravy hunters.

    Olu: 08033013591

    Reading your column of March 26 really left me with serious anger. I hope President Muhammadu Buhari read the piece or his attention was drawn to it by relevant aides. The scale of sleaze is just mind-boggling. You mean one greedy governor took big loan in dollars from an international money-lender and diverted it to black market with the connivance of a bank Managing Director and the proceeds used to import foreign “Ashewo” (harlots) or laundered to buy mighty houses in Florida and Dubai? And the former governor is today walking freely in Nigeria? This is one looting too many. It is a clarion call on NGOs and civil society organizations to take over this advocacy. On behalf of the poor masses of Nigeria, I call on President Buhari to direct the relevant security agencies to fish out the heartless rogue and use him as scapegoat in the renewed fight against graft and those who connived with him in the financial secotor because that kind of money could not have been diverted and laundered abroad without their connivance.

    Alhaji Isa Mohammed, Abuja.

  • Zamfara APC:Marafa accepts Appeal Court’s decision

    The leader of one of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Zamfara State,Senator Kabiru Marafa on Friday accepted Thursday’s verdict of the Court of Appeal that paved the way for the party to contest all elections in the state.

    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Friday said it had decided to relist the party’s candidates in the state for elections on account of the court’s ruling.

    “This is what Allah has decided and destined, we have accepted it,” Marafa said in a statement.

    He added: “We tried our best but Allah knows the wisdom behind this. I have said it, that whatever comes out from the court, we will open our hands and accept it as Allah’s will. What we are fighting is injustice and nothing personal.

    “I’m appealing to my teeming supporters to be law abiding and shun anything that would cause confusion and breach of public peace.

    “Please come out massively to vote for President Buhari. And for other elections vote for the candidates that will protect you and your properties in senatorial and house of representatives elections. Vote according to your conscience.

    “We have already filed an appeal at the Sokoto division of the appeal court. It will come up soon. We will pursue it to its logical conclusion.

    “I sincerely thank all the good people within and outside the state that supported us in standing up to the tyrannical tendencies of Gov Yari and his backers.”

  • Elections: Why Zamfara APC must not field candidates – Senator

    The Senator representing Zamfara Central, Kabiru Marafa, Tuesday insisted that the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Zamfara State must not be allowed to field candidates in the February National Assembly and March governorship and House of Assembly elections.

    Marafa said that the ruling of an Abuja Federal High Court that Zamfara APC should not field candidates for the elections should be obeyed by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

    Read Also:Why I left APC – Dogara

    The Senator who is also Chairman, Senate Committee on Petroleum Resource (Downstream) stated this at a press briefing in Abuja.

    He said that INEC should stand by its earlier position that the Zamfara State APC has no candidates for the elections due to the party’s failure to conduct primary elections within the time frame set for it.

    Marafa who is also a member of APC noted that allowing the party in Zamfara State to be on the ballot for National Assembly, governorship and State Assembly elections would be injustice of the highest order and must not be allowed.

    Marafa said: “I am a loyal and committed party man but my loyalty to the party has limitations especially in a situation where justice is required.

    “My loyalty first and foremost is to the Federal Republic of Nigeria, because we must have Nigeria before we can have the Senate or political parties.

    “So, my loyalty is first to my God and to my people. APC is not a religion. So, if APC decides that the worst APC candidate is better than the best other candidates from anywhere, I will respect them because they are in politics to field candidates to win elections.

    “But that cannot be true to me. So, I would go for the best for my people.

    “So, even if it means APC losing in Zamfara State, I don’t give a damn. After all, the crisis that we are in today started with the APC itself.

    “The governor (of Zamfara State) is going around whipping up sentiments that INEC should not accept the court judgment delivered in my favour because APC would lose Zamfara if the party did not present candidates for the election which to me is balderdash.”

    Marafa however assured that President Muhammadu Buhari would win in the State landslide without Governor Abdulaziz Yari’s input in anyway.

    He said, “Thank God President Muhammadu Buhari has broken the political barriers in the political space now. Before, it was the President that needs the governors. Today, the President does not need the governors to win elections; rather, they need him.

    “President Buhari is going to win Zamfara. He will stand by the truth. He is pained by what is happening in the state and he would want to see a change of leadership in Zamfara State.

    “I have not spoken with him on the issue but I believe that he will share the same view with me. It would be better to have a better person from another party (as governor in Zamfara) than to have a bad person from APC just because you want APC to win.

    “Of what benefit is an APC governor that will allow all these killings and corruption in Zamfara to continue?”

    He said that external influence in the matter of the state would fail as the people of the state know what is good for them.

    The Senator said that they were awaiting the decision of INEC since the electoral body said that it is studying the conflicting judgements on matter.

    He accused the state governor of procuring judgement from the state High Court in his (governor’s) favour.

  • Saraki, Marafa disagree over N2.4bn fuel subsidy daily payment

    Senate President Bukola Saraki and Chairman, Senate Committee on Petroleum Resources Senator Kabiru Marafa, on Wednesday disagreed over the alleged daily payment of N2.4 billion to subsidise fuel in the country

    Marafa told reporters in Abuja that the country does not pay up to N2.4bn to subsidise fuel daily as claimed by Saraki

    The Senate President had claimed that President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration was spending N2.4bn to subsidize 50million litres every day.

    Saraki at a programme aired on African Independent Television, yesterday noted that, “It is shocking and alarming that the current administration in the country claimed that Nigerians are consuming 50 million litres of fuel every day and for two years, they did it without appropriation.

    “What type of integrity are we talking about when a government claims to have been spending N2.4 bn?

    “We have a committee set up to look into it but we have always met a brick wall.

    “For two years, we made several cases to the executive that the subsidy claims must be presented for appropriation because we cannot continue to rely on the arguments by the executive was only spending money on under recovery.

    “We have set up a panel to look into it but its activities are being frustrated because we have a government where its executive does not believe that it is accountable to the National Assembly.

    “We have done our part to raise it and to do as much as possible to expose what is going on. The way subsidy is being managed now at 50million a day, is fraud. It’s not possible.”

    Marafa in an interview with reporters sharply disagreed with Saraki.

    The Zamfara Central lawmaker insisted that findings by his committee showed that Nigerians were not consuming more than 30 million of litres of fuel per day.

    He also noted that it was not possible for the country to spend up to N2.4bn ever day to subsidize fuel consumption.

    Marafa said: “It is not possible to spend N2.4bn on subsidy in Nigeria every day. Even though we don’t have the exact figure but it ranges between 25 to 35 million per day, depending on the circumstances.

    “Even if we are selling 30 million litres per day at N145 per litre, it will amount to N4.3bn. If you say that government is subsidizing by N2.4bn, are we saying that government is selling at half of the amount?

    “The landing cost of PMS (Petrol) is N180 that means government is subsidizing maximum N40 naira per litre. If you multiply that with 30 million litres, it cannot be up to N2.4bn.

    “I don’t want to join issues with the Senate President. I don’t know the particular committee he mandated to carry out his investigations but if he said so, it must be for the purpose of winning elections.

    “From the records at my disposal, Nigeria is not consuming 5o million litres per day. It is not possible. Even if the nation is paying subsidy at all, it is being taken from the running cost of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation.”

  • Senate seeks immediate payment of petroleum marketers

    The Senate on Thursday criticized the Federal Government for its alleged refusal to pay oil subsidy claims by petroleum products marketers.

    The upper chamber said that the Federal Government has failed to pay the marketers despite the approval granted it by the National Assembly in July.

    The Senate Committee on Petroleum (Downstream) held a stakeholders meeting in Abuja where members of the committee took turns to disparage the government action.

    The senators claimed that government agencies appeared to have been deliberately slowing down paying the products marketers their entitlements.

    The committee ordered the Federal Ministry of Finance to within one week initiate a meeting with other government agencies and the marketers to reconcile figures of subsidy claims.

    The committee also resolved that the meeting should discuss ways and means of fast tracking payment of arrears claims without further delay.

    It mandated the stakeholders to report back to the committee the progress made next week.

    The upper chamber had, in July 2018, approved payments of subsidy claims of over N348bn to oil marketing companies.

    The approval was granted based on a request by President Muhammadu Buhari to that effect.

    It also followed the adoption of an interim report by the committee on “Promissory Note Programme and Bond Issuance to Settle Inherited Local Debts and Contractual Obligations to Petroleum Marketers.”

    The Senate approved that 55 oil marketers should be paid verified figures totalling N275,750,415,108.

    The upper chamber said that 19 other marketers “with contentious claims and verified figures” be paid 65 per cent of their claims, totaling N73,452,639,866, pending further investigation and verification by the committee.

    Chairman of the committee, Senator Kabiru Marafa, noted Thursday that the meeting was called to know how much the Federal Government had implemented the Senate’s resolution.

    Marafa also said that his committee wanted to know the situation with the 19 marketers with contentious claims.

    He noted that the committee wanted the solution to the continued conflict of subsidy figures between the government and oil marketers.

    Marafa said, “The situation is becoming a vicious cycle that will not end. There is a general disquiet in the industry as I am speaking to you today, that government’s efforts may be sabotaged because as Chairman of this committee, I am aware of the very serious efforts put in place by this government to ensure that there is no fuel scarcity in this country. We have abundant quantities in every part of Nigeria.”

    He added that the government and the marketers reached agreement in June 2016, with another agreement made in June 2017.

    Marafa said that the government was yet to pay the agreed sums while the marketers had continued to groan over interests caused by the delay in their payment.

    He said, “Since they were not paid as at that time, the interests did not stop.”

    The committee chairman noted that there was a meeting between the relevant ministries and agencies with President Muhammadu Buhari where the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria allegedly said commercial banks would be advised to suspend interests on loans taken by oil marketers for fuel importation.

    He said, “All that did not happen and the marketers are saying that the interests have continued (to grow). Apart from the figure agreed, they are now asking for another figure. Even if the government pays that one, there is another problems again. So, this issue of subsidy will continue and it is going to tell on the integrity of a lot of people. This committee is concerned.”

    Director-General, Debt Management Office, Mrs. Patience Oniha, on her part noted that while the payments were approved by the Senate in July, the office did not receive communication from the Clerk to the National Assembly until September.

    She said that the processes of the payments were detailed in the request made to the Federal Executive Council, which was passed and forwarded to the National Assembly for approval.

    The DG noted that the processes, which must be followed, were still ongoing and DMO would engage the marketers by the middle of November 2018.

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    Oniha said, “By the time the Senate kindly approved the one for oil marketers, we had already started working and putting a framework in place which was submitted to the Minister of Finance. For us to incur any debt – to book any debt in whatever form, whether promissory note or public debt stock – we need the approval of the National Assembly. That of the (upper) House was only communicated to us in September.

    “So, technically, if we had put everything in place, until we got that final resolution from the Clerk, we would not have started. In the letter that came from the Clerk to the National Assembly after the approval by the Senate, it was expressly stated that this was the approval of the Senate and we only got the approval in September.”

    She also said that the Federal Government wanted to contract an international consultant based in Nigeria to audit the subsidy claims and payments.

    The accounting firm, which she did not name, had been approved by FEC to do “a review of the numbers.”

    The marketers, she said, would be paid based on the outcome of the review.

    The DMO DG noted that the Federal Government planned to convert the claims and pay the marketers with promissory notes.

    The committee disagreed with the DMO DG on the processes of payment.

    Members of the committee insisted that the process of payment would further worsen the plights of the marketers in the hands of the banks.

    Senator Mao Ohuabunwa, a member of the committee said, “With the brief from the DMO, are we trying to give the marketers a grant or pay them for a business that had been contracted and concluded? You said you wanted to appoint an international auditor and you have not appointed one. You are still in the process of engaging one and you are talking about promissory notes. You said from 15th November you would start engagements (with marketers), not even to start paying, which means there is no fixed time frame yet. I can’t understand this.”

    Another member, Senator Ibrahim Dambaba said, “I want to register my disappointment and displeasure over the way government handled this matter. I have a paper here with me that dated 30th June 2017. These debts were verified as far back as June 30th. To this point as I am talking, nothing is happening, and you are still saying that you will engage these marketers again. I think that should not be the case.”

    Marafa noted that the committee would be forced to report to President Muhammadu Buhari if ministries, departments and agencies delayed the payments, leading to fuel scarcity in the country.

    Marafa said, “I think there is a fundamental problem. I agree with some of the submissions by my colleagues. These things are badly handled. That is the truth of this matter. When you look at the submissions by DMO and the processes, from 2017 that you agreed to something, who forced you? Did anybody force the Federal Government to agree with these figures? From the moment you accepted, you have to honour your words.

    “I don’t want to say this but I can see some hands behind these things. God forbid, honestly, if these things result into any fuel scarcity, I will be one of the few people that will walk up to Mr. President and say that there is sabotage. I know the efforts the government put to avoid these things.”

    The marketers claimed that commercial banks, from which they obtained loans to import Premium Motor Spirit (petrol), had continued to seize their assets since it was announced that the National Assembly had approved payment of subsidy arrears.

    The Executive Secretary, Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association of Nigeria, Olufemi Adewole, said, “The processes they have highlighted, to us, are killing our businesses. I can tell you without mentioning the name of the banks that the moment some banks heard – they just heard; they read it in the media – that the National Assembly had approved, they went to courts, got injunctions and seized our assets. My people – marketers – are in a dire state.

    “I don’t need to go over how many members of staff have been laid off. Those who were laid off are feeling the pain right now. Today is the end of the month and another cycle of interests will be placed on those accounts tomorrow (today) morning. Every CEO here will get an alert of increase on interests tomorrow morning. These are needless expenses for the Federal Government. We are pleading, we are at our knees’ end, by whatever means, let us have this money.

    “Giving us discounted promissory notes is like killing us twice because it is already a loss for us; now we are to be given promissory notes that we are going to be forced to discount. The CBN governor promised us then, that the banks would be advised to stop charging interests. We have written to him several times but nothing has been done and the banks are doing this. We are pleading, we need these payment instruments like six months ago.”

    A former Minister of Trade and Investment and Chairman of Integrated Oil and Gas Limited, Captain Emmanuel Iheanacho, also said his firm hand been dragged to court by its creditor who was about take over his assets.

    Marafa said that the committee would continue to monitor and ensure that the marketers were paid their claims.

  • Senators kick over pegging of elections expenses, others

    Senators on Wednesday took turns to criticize sections of a bill to amend provisions of the Electoral Act 2010.

    The renewed attempt to amend the Electoral Act 2010 followed the refusal of President Muhammadu Buhari to sign the amended Electoral Act transmitted to him for assent.

    Chairman, Senate Committee on Independent National Electoral Commission, Senator Suleiman Nazif, on Wednesday presented a reviewed Electoral Act amendment bill for the consideration and passage.

    But new Electoral Act amendment bill aimed at accommodating the observations of President Buhari appeared to have created more controversies as identified by Senators.

    On election expenses (Section 91(1) the bill proposed that “Election expenses shall not exceed the sum stipulated in subsections (2)-(7) which stipulated that maximum amount candidates should spend in an election.

    It specifically proposed N5 billion for a presidential candidate; N1 billion for a governorship candidate; N100 million for senatorial candidate; N70 million for House of Representatives; N30 million for State Assembly and chairmanship candidate and N5 million for councillorship candidate.

    It also said that no individual or other entity shall donate to a candidate more than N10 million.

    It goes on to stipulate that “A candidate who knowingly acts in contravention of this section, commits an offence and is liable on conviction to a fine of 1% of the amount permitted as the limit of campaign expenditure under this Act or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or both.”

    Most of the senators who spoke kicked against pegging of election expenses.

    For some other, election expense should be left open ended.

    Senator Kabiru Marafa (Zamfara Central) warned that the proposal on election expenses was unimplementable.

    He said, “I don’t see the logic in pegging the amount to be contributed to a candidate. We all know that this won’t stand, because people are going to spend much more than that.

    “On N5 billion for a Presidential candidate as limit of expenses, Marafa wanted to know how many polling units the country has.

    “If you give each agent say N10, 000, the amount may get up the proposed amount. So, I don’t want us to do something that won’t stand.”

    On his own Senator James Manager (Delta South) said: “Some of the amendments raised are very technical and dangerous.

    “I advise that when this is referred to the committee, it should check all the views expressed here, including those not expressed, and come up with something that is acceptable.

    “For example, the issue raised by Marafa it is a very serious one.

    “Besides, who is going to enforce this? So, we should look at it holistically. What we have here is something that is completely unimplementable. We should be able to make laws that can be implemented.”

    Senator Victor Umeh (Anambra Central) said: “On elections expenses limit, the provision here can’t be enforced. It is not enforceable.

    “Making this provision in the Electoral Act is like making anybody that wins election to be taken to court. We should look at how to strengthen the law against vote buying.

    “Monies spent by a candidate among his party members can never be ascertained by anybody. I suggest that this section should be expunged completely.”

    Senate Leader, Senator Ahme Lawan (Yobe North) was more concerned about when the issues raised by the President would be addressed while Deputy Senate President, Senator Ike Ekweremadu expressed worry about item 7, on missing name of a candidate on the ballot paper.

    Ekwerenmadu noted that “This is very dangerous ‎ because somebody who knows he can’t win election will raise an alarm and make other candidates suffer for it.”

    The section states: “If at the point of display or distribution of ballot paper by the Commission, a candidate or his agent discovers that his name, the name of logo of his party is omitted, a candidate of his agent shall notify the Commission and the Commission shall:

    (a)  Postpone the election to rectify the omission and (b) Appoint another date to conduct the election, not later than 90 days.

    It further stated that “Where the election is postponed due to omission of a political party’s name or logo, the Commission’s officer responsible for such printing of party name or logo commits an offence and is liable on conviction to a fine of N2 million or imprisonment for two years or both.”

    Senator Mohammed Ali Ndume (Borno South) said that his was more of an observation.

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    “I want to add to what the Deputy Senate President said on the omission of logos. Prior to election day, a copy of the ballot papers should be made available to political parties to check their names and logos. If we allow it to go like this, there will be room for manipulation.

    “A sample of the ballot paper should be displayed two weeks to the election for all parties to see,” Ndume said.

    Senator Kabiru Gaya (Kano South) said: “The issues raised by the president are vital, and the committee said they would look into them. I believe the committee should come up with all the areas for us to discuss.”

    Senator Joshua Lidani (Gombe South) on his own said: “I don’t know why we’re bringing INEC to meddle into the issue of candidates. INEC doesn’t have anything to do with what the parties decide since they are the only ones that can forward names of candidates for elections.”

    Senator Suleiman Hunkuyi (Kaduna North) said: “I believe INEC should be allowed to confirm all that happens during the parties’ primaries,” while Senator George Akume (Benue North West) said: “I want to draw attention to section 87 on parties’ nomination. It is an undue interference in the affairs of political parties.”

    Senator Andy Uba (Anambra South) noted that on “section 87 (12) where which talks about primaries, in a state where you have parallel primaries and INEC officials attended both, how do you handle that? So, I think this section should be expunged.”

    Senator Dino Melaye (Kogi West) drew attention to the issue of parties’ primaries.

    “It is a serious recipe for danger. It can be used to witch-hunt political enemies. There is a subsisting judgment by the Supreme Court that the issue of nomination is the prerogative of the political parties. This is a very dangerous trend.”

    Senator Chukwuka Utazi (Enugu North) noted that “in addition to other observations made by colleagues, I want to talk on section 49 (3). I’m of the opinion that the proposal on card reader should be 72 hours. On primaries too, political parties should be allowed to nominate candidates without INEC interference.”

    Having gone through second reading, the bill referred to the committee on electoral matters to report back on Tuesday.

  • Zamfara APC crisis persists

    A front line All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship aspirant in Zamfara State, Senator Kabiru Marafa, yesterday described the call by Governor Abdulaziz Yari  to members of the APC in the state to conduct the primary election by themselves as an invitation to anarchy.

    Marafa said Yari told reporters  in Gusau, the Zamfara State capital that all party faithful in the state should conduct the primaries by themselves to beat INEC deadline of midnight.

    Marafa in a statement noted that asking the party members to conduct the primaries without moderators from the national secretariat of APC would lead to anarchy.

    He said, “It is unfortunate that the Governor after deliberately frustrating the conduct of the exercise will now be asking the people to conduct the exercise themselves. This is an invitation to anarchy and we will never be part of any illegality, aimed at pushing the state into anarchy. ”

    Marafa said on Wednesday after Governor Yari allegedly threatened that there would be bloodbath in Zamfara, five innocent persons were killed and many more wounded by Yaris boys, and the culprits are still working freely.

    ” it is  against this background that I’m calling on the national Headquarters of our party to invoke the relevant sections of the party constitution to disqualify Yari and his co travellers to serve as a deterrent to others, ” he said.

    He urged the members of the party not to listen to the Governor, saying Yari was only interested  in looted the resources  of the state and not it’s people or their welfare and wellbeing.

  • …party risks not fielding governorship candidate, Marafa warns

    A gubernatorial aspirant under the All Progressives Congress (APC) Senator Kabiru Marafa of Zamfara State on Friday warned that the party risks not fielding a candidate in the 2019 election if it fails to conduct credible party primary in the state.

    The APC National Working Committee (NWC) had on Thursday cancelled the Zamfara governorship primary election in the state.

    The APC had said that the cancellation followed election malpractices, including snatching of electoral materials.

    But speaking with State House correspondents after meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, Marafa warned that the primary elections must be conducted before Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) deadline on Sunday or risked disqualification.

    He said “Well, it is not about me now I think it is about APC generally, whether APC has a chance or not because once it is blocked by 12.00 AM (on Sunday) APC will have nowhere to go to.’’

    Stressing that he was in the Villa to update President Buhari on the failed APC governorship primary election in Zamfara State, he alleged that the state governor, Abdulaziz Yari, had lost the support of people of the state.

    Dismissing the allegation of political thuggery being leveled against him by some state government officials, Marafa alleged that Yari and his supporters were trying to sabotage APC’s interest in Zamfara State.

    Meanwhile, the former Zamfara State governor and a stalwart of the party in the state, Senator Ahmed Yerima also met behind closed doors with President Buhari on Friday.

  • ‘APC risks not fielding governorship candidate in Zamfara’

    A gubernatorial aspirant under the All Progressives Congress (APC) Senator Kabiru Marafa of Zamfara State on Friday warned that the party risks not fielding a candidate in the 2019 election if it fails to conduct credible party primary in the state.

    The APC National Working Committee (NWC) had on Thursday cancelled the Zamfara governorship primary election in the state.

    The APC had said that the cancellation followed election malpractices, including snatching of electoral materials.

    But speaking with State House correspondents after meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, Marafa warned that the primary elections must be conducted before Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) deadline on Sunday or risked disqualification.

    He said “Well, it is not about me now I think it is about APC generally, whether APC has a chance or not because once it is blocked by 12.00 a.m. (on Sunday) APC will have nowhere to go to,’’

    Stressing that he was in the Villa to update President Buhari on the failed APC governorship primary election in Zamfara State, he alleged that the state governor, Abdulaziz Yari, had lost the support of people of the state.

    Read Also: Ondo: PDP nullifies Owo/Ose primary election

    He described as “illegal and irresponsible’’ the action of the governor after the announcement of the cancellation of the primary by the Prof. Abubakar Faki-led APC Zamfara Governorship Primaries Committee.

    “The chairman of the APC Zamfara Governorship Primaries Committee witnessed the violence, he saw what happened after several days of meeting and he cancelled the election.

    ‘Even when the results started trickling in the governor was nowhere to be found.

    “But the governor came on air to say that he is the chief security officer of the state. So, as far as he is concerned the elections are going to continue on Thursday and he is going to collate the results.

    “This is quite illegal and quite irresponsible with due respect. So that is capable of turning the state upside down,’’ he said.

    Dismissing the allegation of political thuggery being leveled against him by some state government officials, Marafa alleged that Yari and his supporters were trying to sabotage APC’s interest in Zamfara State.

    Meanwhile, the former Zamfara State Governor and a stalwart of the party in the state, Senator Ahmed Yerima also met behind closed doors with President Buhari on Friday.