The Governor of Zamfara state, Dauda Lawal, has been advised to focus on governance, rather than dissipating energy in discrediting his predecessor and minister of State for Defence, Bello Matawwalle.
The advice was given by a renowned analyst, Deyemi Saka.
He said the task before the governor was to gain the confidence and cooperation of Zamfara people, “because his victory at the poll was a subject of dispute.”
According to Saka, the first major distraction was the allegation that former governor of the state Bello Matawalle made away with 17 vehicles from his office and those in the deputy governor’s office claimed that the vehicles were that of Matawalle.
“We all remember how that ended. There was a judicial pronouncement that established that such claims were frivolous, false, ridiculous, and mere exaggeration,” he said.
Saka said since the governor goofed in the information he gave about Matawalle, one would have expected him and his associates to abandon such unproductive agenda, but they would rather get emboldened.
He said a few weeks ago, female students of the Federal University Gusau were abducted from their off-campus residence at Sabo Gida village in Bungudu Local Government Area (LGA), while the federal government, through relevant security agencies, embarked on a rescue mission.
The governor decided to save his face, by embarking on a foreign trip and he refused to cut short his trip.
Saka explained that a faceless group named “Zamfara Circle” issued a statement signed by one Aminu M. Lawal Tsafe and “mischievously called for the redeployment of the Minister of State for Defence, Dr. Bello Muhammed Matawalle, to another Ministry.”
He stated that despite the growing unpopularity of the governor due to his political witch-hunt and failure to face his major assignment, governor. Dauda Lawal and his associates are back in the media with another allegation against his predecessor.
“In a move which is not unexpected, and in a bid to excuse his poor performance since he got into office, the governor claimed that bad financial situation the current administration met in Zamfara state was necessitated by the past administration of Bello Matawalle,” he said.
Saka stated that in a widely syndicated news report, the governor alleged that the former governor directed the Ministry of Local Government to withdraw N1 billion from the Local Government Joint Account on October 25, 2021, and to pay N825 million to the contractors there ithout any valuation.
“If the recent statement by Mr. Lawal is anything to go by, a downward review of a contract amount to graft. Claiming that no reputable bidder would not agree to a drastic reduction in cost while none to the scope of work is evidence of corruption is watery and childish.
“No reputable company will like to lose a good client and its integrity by insisting on defending a proposal that is outlandish, padded, and highly inflated while putting into consideration the economic realities on the ground
Saka stated that the coffers of Zamfara State is not a personal bank account of Matawalle.
“While it is not open to any debate that as a head of government, he is responsible for the actions and inactions of his administration, this doesn’t mean things were done without recourse to extant laws of our land.
“Whatever amount that was paid to contractors would have been captured in the State’s Appropriation Act for the year such payment was made.
“When the news broke that the government of the day provided evidence of embezzlement against the former governor, I was expecting hard facts and documents to back up such claims. I never expected rhetorics and usual mudslinging,” he said.
