[3] Marafa attended the renowned Harvard Kennedy School in 2019 and was awarded the Executive certificate in Public Leadership.

[11][10] Marafa was conferred with the National Honour COMMANDER OF THE ORDER OF NIGER (CON) in 2014 by president Goodluck Ebele Jonathan (alongside the service chiefs and the APC chairman).

Marafa was also awarded an additional National Honour of ORDER OF THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC (OFR) in 2023 by president Muhammadu Buhari.

[12] In 2018, Marafa ran for the governorship nomination of the ruling All Progressives Congress in Zamfara State but lost as a result of internal crisis in the party.

[15][8] The apex court ruled that the votes received by the APC in the 2019 polls were void because it did not present candidates at the election having failed to conduct valid primaries.