Former Senator Kabiru Marafa, who once represented Zamfara Central in the National Assembly, has again switched political allegiances, this time abandoning the African Democratic Congress (ADC) for the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), barely weeks after his initial defection from the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
The development was confirmed during a high-profile visit by Marafa to the Abuja residence of NDC National Leader and former Bayelsa State Governor, Senator Seriake Dickson, in what observers are already describing as a politically calculated realignment ahead of the Zamfara governorship race.
Receiving the former lawmaker, Senator Dickson was visibly effusive in his welcome, framing Marafa’s arrival not as a defection, but as a homecoming of sorts.
“We warmly receive you into the NDC. This is not decamping; this is a man coming to a house that is probably suited to him, his principles, his values, and what he stands for,” Dickson declared.
The carefully chosen language from the NDC leader was significant. In Nigerian political discourse, decamping, the colloquial term for party defection carries a certain stigma, often associated with opportunism and self-interest.
By reframing Marafa’s arrival in the language of ideological alignment and personal values, Dickson appeared to be laying the groundwork for a narrative that positions the NDC as a natural political home rather than a pit stop of convenience.
Whether that narrative holds up to scrutiny, however, is another matter entirely.
To understand the significance of Marafa’s latest switch, one must trace the breadcrumbs of his recent political journey, a journey that, in a short span of weeks, has taken him through multiple party houses.
Until recently, Marafa was a card-carrying member of the APC, the ruling party under which he built much of his political career. His exit from the APC was accompanied by strong words, as he cited deep-seated concerns over what he described as “political manipulation” within the party’s structures.
For a politician of Marafa’s standing and experience, such a public indictment of his former party was no small statement.
He landed in the ADC, a party that, while relatively modest in national reach, had in recent cycles positioned itself as a haven for disenchanted politicians from the major parties. However, his stay would prove remarkably brief.
Sources close to the development have confirmed what many political watchers in Zamfara had long suspected: at the heart of Marafa’s latest defection lies a very tangible political prize. The Zamfara State governorship ticket.
It is gathered that Marafa, who harbours well-known ambitions to govern Zamfara State, was denied the ADC’s governorship ticket, a development that reportedly became the final straw in his brief association with the party.
With that door firmly shut, the NDC has reportedly extended a far more attractive offer, assuring him of its governorship ticket ahead of the next election cycle.
If confirmed, it would mean that Marafa’s political peregrinations, from APC to ADC to NDC, have been, at their core, a strategic search for a platform from which to launch a governorship bid.
The significance of these developments extends far beyond the personality of one senator. Zamfara State, long a flashpoint for political intrigue and security challenges, is entering what promises to be a fiercely contested electoral season.
Marafa, who built a reputation as a vocal and sometimes contrarian voice in the Senate, commands a certain following within the state, and his alignment with the NDC could inject fresh energy and fresh complications into an already complex political landscape.
His entry could reshape voter calculations, pull support from both the APC and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and force a rethinking of strategies among incumbent political actors in the state.
What Marafa’s story ultimately reflects is a pattern that has defined Nigerian party politics for decades. One in which party loyalty is frequently subordinated to personal ambition, and ideology often takes a back seat to access and opportunity.
As Nigeria continues to grapple with questions of democratic consolidation and political institutionalisation, episodes such as this one serve as a reminder of the long road still ahead.
For now, in the halls of the NDC’s Abuja stronghold, Senator Kabiru Marafa has found, at least for the moment, a political home.
How long he stays will depend, as it often does in Nigerian politics, entirely on what happens next.
WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW
Former Zamfara Central Senator Kabiru Marafa’s rapid movement through three political parties, from APC to ADC to NDC, in a matter of weeks tells one story more than any other: this is ambition in motion.
Stripped of all political language and ceremonial welcomes, the driving force behind every switch is a single goal — the Zamfara State governorship ticket.
Denied that prize by the ADC, he has found it in the NDC.
