August 06, (THEWILL) – The immediate-past governor of Zamfara State, Bello Matawalle, has accused his successor, Gov. Dauda Lawal, of paying more attention to political vendetta than the security of the people.
Matawalle, a Minister-designate from Zamfara, made the accusation when he received members of the Correspondents’ Chapel of the Zamfara Council of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) at his Abuja residence.
“Since he took over the administration of Zamfara from me, all that Dauda Lawal has been doing is political vendetta directed against me while the blood of citizens is being wasted by bandits on a daily basis.
“When I became governor in 2019, I was always in touch with my predecessor, Sen. Abdulaziz Yari and other critical stakeholders to address the insecurity situation in our dear state.
“As it stands now, Dauda is still yet to even appoint a Security Adviser, making one wonder if, as the chief executive of the state, he has the people who voted him into office at heart,” he queried.
Matawalle, who cautioned that insecurity may continue to escalate, said the State Government has many ways to confront the security crisis in the area.
He thanked members of the Chapel for the show of solidarity and for working professionally to promote Zamfara.
Earlier, the Chairman of the Chapel, Sani Dutsinma, said they were in Abuja, to congratulate and wish the former governor well over his nomination for a ministerial position by President Bola Tinubu.
Dutsinma, who presented a copy of a book written on Matawalle by the chapel to the minister-designate, assured that the media will always partner with him for the benefit of the State.
However, Governor Dauda Lawal has refuted the allegation that he is less concerned about the insecurity in the State.
His Media aide, Mustapha Jafaru, said: “Matawalle has nothing to contribute to the security challenges facing Zamfara at the moment because for the four years he spent as governor, he had not been able to stop the killings by bandits in the State.
“As long as Governor Dauda is concerned, he will not contact Matawalle on security and as you know, in less than 100 days in office, the Governor has been able to meet and discuss way forward on these challenges with relevant security experts.
“So, the issue is not about the appointment of an adviser on security or such irrelevant things but about positive actions to be taken, which the Governor is doing and recording success.”
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