The current onslaught on bandits/terrorists in Zamfara State by the military in the north western states under the coordination/supervision of the Minister of State for Defence, Dr. Bello Mohammed Matawalle on the instructions and directives of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu certainly, is yielding unpredictable unprecedented results as bandits’ leaders and their gangs who hitherto thought they were powerful as they laid siege on the region have been subdued by the current development of the federal government’s fight against banditry is quite impressive and needs to be sustained at all cost so that the region will be free from all form of criminalities.
But as a party, we observe with dismay how the Zamfara State governor, Dauda Lawal is trying to sabotage the ongoing onslaught through his media campaigns to distract the effort of the federal government under the coordination of the Minister of State for Defence to succeed because the ongoing military operations is scuttling his 2027 campaigns plan in which he intended to use insecurity as he did during the 2023 general elections.
In a statement Signed by the Yusuf Idris Gusau
APC Publicity Secretary
Zamfara State
Said
The governor has never in anyway supported military operations in the state in terms of logistics, rather he has been too confrontational that at one point, the military had to warn him to steer clear from their activities and efforts to flush out bandits from the state in particular and north western states in general.
He is of the belief that he can now use the operation to his own advantage and also further fight the Minister of State for Defence, Dr. Bello Mohammed Matawalle as he is blinded along with his co-travellers by the fact that the successful current military operations are being coordinated and supervised by the Minister to his disappointment.
He is now bent on distracting the operation through media campaigns and propaganda just as he is toying with the security of lives and properties of innocent Zamfara citizens for his political gains which is why we are calling on the federal government to declare a state of emergency on Zamfara so as to spoil the mischievous plan.
This need is highly desirable so that the operation can go unhindered and the security operatives can go into the state without the governor and government of Zamfara politicizing the manhunt as the state governor, Dauda Lawal has already begun by portraying himself as if he’s the sole sponsor of the operation for which he has no hand.
Since he took over the mantle of leadership in the state as governor in May last year, Mr. Lawal has vehemently nurtured attacks on his predecessor, Matawalle, including direct affront on the Minister’s property and baseless accusations, which always fell on deaf ears.
On many opportunities, Matawalle had offered himself both as Minister of Defence and as a citizen of Zamfara to partner with the governor in fighting the bandits even before the situation escalated to when the acts of banditry, kidnappings for ransom and other heinous crimes became daily affair but all he got was bashing from the governor and his men including hired people who were made to hate Matawalle for no just cause.
The president, concerned by the general outcry, directed the Minister of State for Defence, Dr. Bello Mohammed Matawalle to lead the Defence Headquarters with the Chief of Defence Staff and coordinate a complete elimination of the bandits operating in the region for the return of peace throughout the area and the country as a whole.
Full of energy, the Minister and his fighters has effectively carried out the onerous task, decimating the criminals, their leaders and camps and receiving accolades from all over the world except from governor Dauda Lawal and his team who are not happy with the onslaught being handled by Matawalle.
Since there is nothing they can do however, the governor has now, as usual, turned to politicizing and indirectly fighting Matawalle by revisiting his (Dauda’s) earlier accusations that Matawalle embezzled Zamfara money, left nothing for the incoming administration as well as buying airtime at some media outlets to claim being the one coordinating the fight alongside the military without any recognition of Minister’s.
At a point in one of his TV interviews, governor Dauda sarcastically asked saying “who’s Matawalle, am dealing with the Minister of Defence, Badaru, National Security Adviser and the President and I don’t need Matawalle”, when in reality, it’s Matawalle who was charged with the responsibility which saw the elimination of the most dangerous bandit, Haliru Sububu giving confidence to Nigerians that the others too will soon follow by meeting their Waterloo.
We are not surprised because a governor who can grant approval of over 1.3 billion naira as alleged, to sponsor terrorism, denied the act but immediately redeployed all directors of the state Ministry of Finance whom he believed were the ones who leaked the memo and still denied despite the redeployment letter in circulation, cannot be given public trust.
The same Dauda who budgeted over N19 billion for his wife’s kitchen, kept recalling allegations against his predecessor, Matawalle when he cannot give account of the billions released to the state by the federal government in cash and grains as palliative which were distributed by governors of other states to their citizens but have remained a mirage in Zamfara.
While the governor keeps linking Matawalle to bandits, the Turji bandits kingpin about two months ago, openly said he was aware that some bandits were being harboured in the Government House, Gusau to which we raised the alarm but up to date, the government never came out to deny that, thus, if anyone is to be investigated over bandits, governor Dauda should be first on the list.
The efforts of Matawalle in the fight against banditry when he was governor in Zamfara is far ahead that of Dauda Lawal because Matawalle had distributed 200 brand new Hilux vehicles to the security agencies in the state on the 8th July, 2020.
The well equipped 200 vehicles were distributed amongst the Police, Nigerian Army, Air force, NSCDC, Immigration service, FRSC, DSS, EFCC, Prisons service, Zamfara Road Transport Agency (ZAROTA) and HISBA commission. At the instance of the former
Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lieutenant General Tukur Yusuf Buratai, who was represented by GOC 3 Division, Major General Nuhu Angbazo and the then State Commissioner of Police, CP Usman Nagogo where the vehicles were judiciously utilized and the desired result is achieved.
On the issue of the reconciliation and disarmament, the Matawalle administration executed it through the positive workable advises given by all the security agencies of Military, Police, DSS, Civil Defence and others as against Dauda’s comments that it failed.
Likewise all the Emirs, Islamic scholars and all major critical stakeholders in the state who contributed immensely in all the meetings and strategies on how to end banditry were highly accommodated for better results that were achieved at the end.
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