Zamfara, created in 1996, became internationally known within months of the return to civil rule, when its first governor made it the first state to extend sharia to criminal law. Since then it has been the scene of one of the most consequential Supreme Court judgments in Nigerian electoral history, and of years of devastating banditry. Two sitting governors have been voted out, and in 2026 the governor elected on the PDP ticket joined the APC.
1999 and 2003: Yerima and sharia
Ahmad Sani Yerima won the January 1999 election for the All People’s Party with 265,529 votes against 161,904 for the PDP’s Yushau Anka. Months later he announced that sharia would apply to criminal law from January 2000, and eleven other northern states followed. He was re-elected for the ANPP in April 2003 with 829,954 votes to 210,143 for the PDP’s Bala Mande, then went to the Senate.
2007 and 2011: Shinkafi’s defection and defeat
Yerima’s successor, Mahmud Aliyu Shinkafi, won in April 2007 for the ANPP with 415,455 votes against 122,351 for the PDP’s Yahaya Abdulkarim. In 2009 he crossed to the ruling PDP. Yerima’s camp backed Abdul’aziz Abubakar Yari for the ANPP in 2011, and Yari unseated Shinkafi by 514,962 votes to 460,656.
2015: Yari’s second term
Yari, now in the APC, was re-elected in April 2015 with 716,964 votes against 201,938 for the PDP’s Mamuda Aliyu Shinkafi. His second term coincided with an explosion of banditry, cattle rustling and kidnapping, and his frequent absences from the state drew heavy criticism. From 2015 to 2019 he chaired the Nigeria Governors’ Forum.
2019: the votes that did not count
The Zamfara APC split into two camps ahead of 2019, one loyal to Yari and one to Senator Kabiru Marafa, and the party failed to hold primaries that complied with its own rules and the law. INEC at first said the APC could not field candidates; a state High Court then cleared them. On 9 March 2019 the APC’s Mukhtar Shehu Idris won 534,541 votes against 189,452 for the PDP’s Bello Matawalle, and the APC swept every other seat.
On 24 May 2019, five days before the inauguration, the Supreme Court ruled that the APC had no valid candidates in Zamfara and that every vote cast for them was wasted. INEC declared the candidates with the next highest votes elected, handing Matawalle the governorship and the PDP every National Assembly and state assembly seat in the state. Matawalle himself joined the APC in June 2021.
2023: Matawalle loses, then the courts
Former bank executive Dauda Lawal survived court challenges to his own nomination to stand for the PDP. On 18 March 2023 he defeated Matawalle by 377,726 votes to 311,976, the second time a Zamfara governor had lost re-election. In November 2023 the Court of Appeal declared the election inconclusive and ordered fresh voting in three local governments, but in January 2024 the Supreme Court set that aside and affirmed Lawal. Matawalle became Minister of State for Defence.
The results at a glance
| Year | Winner (party) | Votes | Runner-up (party) | Votes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Ahmad Sani Yerima (APP) | 265,529 | Yushau Anka (PDP) | 161,904 |
| 2003 | Ahmad Sani Yerima (ANPP) | 829,954 | Bala Mande (PDP) | 210,143 |
| 2007 | Mahmud Shinkafi (ANPP) | 415,455 | Yahaya Abdulkarim (PDP) | 122,351 |
| 2011 | Abdul’aziz Yari (ANPP) | 514,962 | Mahmud Shinkafi (PDP) | 460,656 |
| 2015 | Abdul’aziz Yari (APC) | 716,964 | Mamuda Aliyu Shinkafi (PDP) | 201,938 |
| 2019 | Bello Matawalle (PDP), by court order | 189,452 | Mukhtar Shehu Idris (APC), votes voided | 534,541 |
| 2023 | Dauda Lawal (PDP) | 377,726 | Bello Matawalle (APC) | 311,976 |
2027: Lawal on the APC ticket
On 9 March 2026 Lawal left the PDP for the APC, taking the number of APC governors to 31. He is the party’s candidate for the 6 February 2027 election. INEC’s final list names Ibrahim Shehu-Gusau for the PDP and Bilyaminu Yusuf Shinkafi for the ADC.
