Makarfi steps down as PDP BoT Secretary, cites zoning, emergence of new Chairman
Former Kaduna State Governor, Senator Ahmed Makarfi, has officially resigned from his position as Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Board of Trustees (BoT), insisting that his decision was driven by zoning considerations within the party.
His resignation followed the election of former Minister of Special Duties and Intergovernmental Affairs, Kabiru Turaki, as the new PDP National Chairman at the party’s 2025 national convention in Ibadan — a development that placed both the chairman and the BoT secretary in the same geopolitical zone.
In a resignation letter dated November 17, 2025, and addressed to BoT Chairman Senator Adolphus Wabara, Makarfi explained that he had initially attempted to step down two months earlier through the BoT WhatsApp platform but was persuaded by Wabara to remain until after the convention.
“You may recall that about two months ago, I had resigned as Secretary of the Board and posted same on the Board’s WhatsApp platform,” he wrote, noting that Wabara had urged him to stay on until the party produced a substantive chairman.
Makarfi stressed that his long-standing view is that the BoT Secretary and the National Chairman should not come from the same geopolitical zone. With Turaki emerging from the North-West, which he also represents, he said resigning was the most appropriate step.
“The principal reason for my resignation then and now was, and is still, my belief that the national chairman of the party and the secretary should not come from the same geopolitical zone. Now that a chairman has emerged from the North West, where I come from, it is necessary to give him full space to do the needful,” he stated.
He added that the decision was made in the interest of fairness and balance within the party’s leadership structure.
Makarfi, who governed Kaduna State between 1999 and 2007 and has long been a prominent figure in the PDP, expressed gratitude to Wabara and all BoT members for their cooperation and support during his tenure.
