Politics tamfitronics
The Governor of Zamfara State, Dauda Lawal, has alleged thathis predecessor, Bello Matawalle, was fully involved in banditry issuesplaguing the state.
Speaking on a TVC politics programme on Wednesday night, thegovernor claimed that, based on information at his disposal, his predecessorled a government that was complicit with bandits.
Lawal also accused the previous administration, headed byBello — now the Minister of State for Defence — of misappropriating state fundsand handling insecurity with leniency.
“Yes, there were a lot of issues in the past with mypredecessor. In fact, let me state this very categorically: if I were him(Matawalle), I would resign and face all the allegations against me, whichwould have been more honourable. From all the information we are receiving, mypredecessor (Matawalle) was fully involved in some of these banditry issues,”Lawal stated.
Justifying his claim that his predecessor was implicated inthe banditry, he recounted how a permanent secretary under Matawalle’sadministration paid ransom through the Government House to secure the releaseof his children, who had been abducted by bandits.
The governor said, “A typical example is the permanentsecretary whose children were abducted, and it was unfortunate that he had topay ransom through the Government House. It was also very clear, based on allthe allegations, that bandits were being sheltered at the Government House. Andthere were many other issues.”
He added that, if he were Matawalle, he would have resignedto clear his name of all allegations.
“So, for me, honestly, if I were him, I would step aside andface these allegations until my name is cleared, before returning to continuemy job. How can you imagine such allegations against him, and yet he remainsthe Minister of Defence? I mean, that is unfair. This man could have beenhonourable, stepped aside, faced the allegations, cleared his name, and thencome back to continue his job,” Lawal stated.
He added that his predecessor’s file was before the Economicand Financial Crimes Commission and expressed surprise that the same person hadbeen cleared by lawmakers and security agencies for the post of minister.
“In May 2023, there was an allegation of misappropriatingover ₦70 billion, and when we took over, we realised that ₦70 billion was asmall fraction compared to the rot on the ground. All this information wasbefore the EFCC, and I wondered how this man was cleared by the securityagencies before being confirmed as a minister. If I were him, I would face theEFCC and say, ‘Look, let me clear my name.’
“This is a man with 41 children, and for goodness’ sake,what kind of legacy is he going to leave for his children when he is beingaccused of misappropriating such a large sum? He should have come forward,faced the EFCC, and cleared his name.
“But we are still waiting to hear from the EFCC, and thecase has been ongoing for over a year now. Meanwhile, this is the people’smoney we are talking about. We need this money in Zamfara with all thechallenges we are facing, including financial constraints. At the very least,let’s recover some of this money for Zamfara so that we can work for the peopleof the state,” Lawal concluded.
When contacted for a response, Matawalle’s PersonalAssistant (Media), Ahmad Dan Wudil, stated that the minister would soon respondto the allegations made by the governor.
“I will forward our response today regarding thatallegation. I will get back to you,” Wudil told our correspondent during atelephone conversation on Thursday.
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