APC Set To Receive Governor Of Bandits To Ruling Party
The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Zamfara State has concluded plans to formally receive Governor Dauda Lawal into the ruling party, in an event to be presided over by Vice President, Kashim Shettima.
The state APC Chairman, Tukur Danfulani Maikatako, disclosed this on Saturday during a stakeholders’ meeting in Gusau, stating that the high-profile defection ceremony is scheduled for next Tuesday.
Maikatako said the party’s national leadership, alongside the Vice President, would be in the state to officially welcome Lawal, describing the move as a “return home” for the governor, who was previously a member of the APC.
“We all know that Zamfara has long been one of the APC’s stronghold states, where the defected governor was once a bona fide member,” he said.
“Now that he has decided to return home, having been satisfied that the APC remains his preferred political platform after leaving for obvious reasons.”
The APC chairman called on party members across the state’s 147 wards and 14 local government areas to mobilise massively for the event, stressing that the visit is aimed at consolidating the party’s influence in Zamfara ahead of the 2027 general elections.
He also urged members to put aside internal divisions and close ranks. “I call on you to forget factionalism and remain united. We are one political family with a shared goal of making Zamfara and Nigeria greater,” Maikatako added.
Also speaking, a former state APC Chairman, Lawal M. Liman, appealed to party loyalists to spread the message across their respective constituencies, emphasising unity and collective effort toward strengthening the party’s structure in the state.
Zamfara has been grappling with banditry and insecurity which has escalated significantly in quantitative terms over the years.
According to multiple security reports, between 2018 and 2023, the state recorded thousands of violent incidents linked to armed groups, with estimates suggesting over 3000–5,000 deaths in Zamfara alone during this period.
Kidnapping for ransom has become one of the most measurable dimensions of the crisis.
Reports suggest that from 2019 to 2022, more than 2,000 individuals were abducted in Zamfara State, with ransom payments collectively estimated in the billions of naira.
In certain local government areas, entire communities reported repeated abductions, sometimes involving dozens of victims in a single incident.
The scale of displacement is also stark: humanitarian agencies estimate that over 200,000 people have been internally displaced from Zamfara, many fleeing to safer areas within Nigeria or neighboring states.
Agricultural output has declined sharply due to insecurity, with some local surveys indicating that up to 60–70% of farmers in high-risk areas abandoned their farmlands during peak violence periods.
This has contributed to rising food prices and worsening food insecurity across the region. In addition, livestock losses have been substantial, with tens of thousands of cattle reportedly rustled by bandits annually, undermining both household income and the broader rural economy.
