Senator Kabiru Marafa, a former chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Zamfara State, has vowed to deduct one million votes from President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s total votes in 2027.

Marafa, who represented Zamfara Central in the Senate from 2011 to 2019, recently quit the APC, accusing the President of “use-and-dump” style.

While speaking on ‘Politics Today,’ a Channels Television programme on Monday, Marafa said he’s resolved to ensure one million votes is deducted from Tinubu’s total votes in 2027.

“I’m going to assure you something today. I’m going to deduct one million out of Mr. President’s votes that he got in 2023. Mark my words. I’m going to do it. I would work for it and by the special grace of God, I’m going to win that.

“Now, whether somebody said that I’m paperweight, I’m a lightweight; whatever I’m, 2027 is going to determine who is a paperweight.”

Continuing, Marafa, who worked as Zamfara State Coordinator of the Tinubu/Shettima campaign organisation in the 2023 presidential elections, stated that because of “heavy disenchantment”, major politicians in Zamfara are on one side.

“And again, let me tell you. In 2023, just to tell the level at which our politics have come up today. Because of the heavy disenchantment of the people, all people, anybody that you can call substance in Zamfara State, we’re on one side.

“And there’s Dauda, who has never been in politics except in 2023, was able to secure victory against all of us. Four former governors, how many senators? How many members of the House of Representatives? This is the same type of sentiment that people canvassed at that time, that who’s Dauda? Dauda cannot do anything. Dauda is this, Dauda is that.

“Now, the only election that we’re able to win was that of Mr. President and courtesy of the message that we took to the people that Mr. President promised that he was going to change the reward system of the APC.

“Because people were not happy with the tail end of Buhari’s government. He promised that he was going to eradicate the concept of ‘monkey dey work, baboon dey chop,’ only for him to entrench it, institutionalize it and it became the state policy of the APC,” he added. (Nigerian Tribune, but headline rejigged)