APC chieftain Sani Shinkafi says efforts to resolve the Assembly impasse stalled after key stakeholders allegedly shunned a reconciliation meeting, while insisting that Senator Abdul’Aziz Yari has no links to the lawmakers who resigned from the party.

The All Progressives Congress in Zamfara State says the eight suspended members of the State House of Assembly who recently resigned from the party are not political allies of Senator Abdul’Aziz Abubakar Yari, former governor and Director General of the Tinubu/Shettima Presidential Campaign Council.

Dr. Sani Abdullahi Shinkafi, APC chieftain and 2027 Zamfara North Senatorial aspirant, made the clarification in a press statement issued, dismissing reports linking Senator Yari to the lawmakers’ resignation as “mischievous and sponsored.”

The suspended legislators are Aliyu Ango Kagara of Talata Mafara South, Ibrahim Tukur Bakura of Bakura, Faruk Musa Dosara of Maradun I, Bashir Abubakar Masama of Bukkuyum North, Muktaru Nasiru Kaura of Kaura North, Nasiru Abdullahi of Maru North, Bashar Bello of Bungudu West, and Bashar Aliyu of Gummi I.

They were suspended on 26 February 2024 over allegations of gross misconduct, conspiracy and convening an illegal sitting. The House leadership also instituted criminal proceedings against them and ordered warrants for their arrest, forcing them to flee the state.

According to Dr, Shinkafi, five of the eight lawmakers were elected in 2023 on the platform of the PDP before defecting to APC, while only three were elected on APC tickets. He noted that some of them were also political allies of former governors Bello Matawalle and Ahmed Sani Yerima, not of Senator Yari.

“Hon. Ibrahim Tukur Bakura, for instance, was nominated to replace a late member in 2020 on PDP platform and defected with Matawalle in 2021. The member for Maradun I served as Majority Leader under Matawalle. They have no political affiliation with Senator Yari,” Dr , Shinkafi stated.

He added that Hon. Aliyu Ango Kagara of Talata Mafara was declared absent by the Assembly in January 2025 after attending only 21 of 180 sittings, and was not among the eight suspended in 2024.

Dr, Shinkafi said efforts by Senator Yari and other APC stakeholders to resolve the crisis failed after the House leadership refused to lift the suspension and instead pursued legal action. The party also denied the affected members tickets for the 2027 elections, which he cited as a key reason for their resignation.

In the face of withheld salaries and entitlements, Dr, Shinkafi said Senator Yari provided personal financial support to the suspended lawmakers and offset some of their bank loans to cushion the hardship.

“I passionately appealed to the House leadership and Governor Dauda Lawal for a political solution and payment of their entitlements, but the leadership remained adamant,” he said.

The APC chieftain also debunked social media claims that Senator Yari is sponsoring ADC governorship candidate Hon. Bilyaminu Yusuf Shinkafi in Zamfara. He described the allegation as “a blatant lie and campaign of calumny” by political opponents afraid of Yari’s rising profile.

He explained that the ADC candidate is related by marriage to Senator Yari, to Minister of Budget and Economic Planning Senator Atiku Bagudu, and to former Governor Mahmud Shinkafi, but has no political sponsorship from Yari. The candidate, he said, was an APC aspirant for Zamfara North Senate in 2027 but was not cleared by the party’s screening committee.

Dr Sani Shinkafi recalled that both Senator Yari and Governor Lawal are now in APC following the governor’s defection from PDP in March 2026, which created expectations of reconciliation. He said Yari convened a stakeholders meeting to broker peace but some key figures, including the Minister of State for Defence, shunned the meeting.

He insisted that APC in Zamfara remains united under Senator Yari’s leadership and expressed confidence that the former governor will deliver President Tinubu’s re-election in 2027 as part of the Renewed Hope Agenda.

“Senator Yari is a team player and man of enormous political sagacity. His appointment as DG of the Presidential Campaign Council reflects national acceptance that some rivals are uncomfortable with,” Dr, Shinkafi said.

He urged citizens to disregard fake news against Senator Yari and APC in Zamfara, stressing that the party is “strong, vibrant and united” ahead of 2027.

“Let us rally behind visionary leaders like President Tinubu, Vice President Shettima and Senator Yari to build a nation future generations will be proud of,” he concluded.