September 25, (THEWILL) – A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kano State, Dr. Musa Iliyasu Kwankwaso, has urged Governor Dauda Lawal of Zamfara State to work with his predecessor and Minister of State for Defence, Bello Matawalle, in his efforts to defeat banditry and other forms of insecurity in the North.
Kwankwaso, in a statement released to newsmen in Kano on Wednesday, also asked Governor Lawal to join hands with President Bola Tinubu and the Federal Government in their efforts to curb insecurity in his state and the North.
He said Lawal should do such “rather than reporting the Minister to the National Security Adviser (NSA), accusing him (Matawalle) of complicity in the spate of kidnapping and banditry in the state.”
Kwankwaso described the accusation as “a complete waste of time and an attempt to divert people’s attention from the successes recorded in the fight against insecurity in the North”.
According to him, Matawalle passed security screening before his appointment as Minister of Defence and as such, his integrity is not in question.
“I know that any Nigerian appointed to the strong position of a Minister could not have gotten that privilege if his characters and records are questionable,” the APC chieftain said.
He said the North needs urgent solutions to its teething problems, including insecurity, and not the politicisation of its challenges.
Kwankwaso, therefore, urged all citizens of the region, irrespective of their positions, to rally round the Federal Government to enable it to address the numerous challenges facing the region.
Abdullahi Yusuf is a seasoned journalist, communicator and was previously the Deputy Editor-In-Chief and Zonal Manager, News Agency of Nigeria, NAN, Jos, where he retired on December 15, 2021
