Zamfara Assembly Crisis: Shinkafi Reveals Yari’s Role In Suspended Lawmakers’ Plight

A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Sani Abdullahi Shinkafi, said eight suspended members of the Zamfara State House of Assembly are not politically linked to Senator Abdul’aziz Abubakar Yari.

He explained that they were not Yari’s allies and that he had tried to resolve the dispute that led to their suspension.

Naija News reports that Shinkafi spoke in a press statement on Friday.

He said Yari and other APC stakeholders tried to broker a peaceful resolution between the suspended lawmakers and the state assembly leadership.

However, the efforts failed because the assembly leadership refused to lift the suspension and had initiated criminal proceedings against the legislators.

The eight 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.

According to Shinkafi, the lawmakers were suspended on February 26, 2024, over allegations of gross misconduct, conspiracy, mischief, contempt of the House, and convening an illegal sitting in violation of the assembly’s standing orders.

He said the dispute had persisted despite efforts to find a political solution, leaving the affected legislators without salaries, allowances, and other entitlements.

Shinkafi alleged that withholding their remuneration caused financial difficulties for the lawmakers, prompting Yari to provide financial assistance and settle outstanding bank loans they had defaulted on.

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

He added that the affected lawmakers had petitioned the House of Representatives Committee on Public Petitions to intervene in the dispute and persuade the state assembly and government to reinstate them and pay their accumulated entitlements.

Shinkafi argued that the lawmakers’ political backgrounds further showed they did not form a bloc loyal to Yari.

He said five of the eight legislators were elected on the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) platform in the 2023 general election before defecting to the APC.