It is never enough that governors and governments talk about the citizens of their respective states only to turn deaf ears in times of desperation such as the naira redesign period, a terrible experience Nigerians never had.
It is at this time that three governors stood out tall for their people by taking the risk of charging the federal government to court in order to truncate the plan by the federal government to stop the use of the old N200, N500 and N1,000 notes as the nation’s legal tender from February 10, 2023, following the production of redesigned ones.
The hardship faced by citizens in securing the new notes has been unprecedented. Hard hit are the rural dwellers most of whom keep their money at home. So, to suddenly stop them from using the old notes was just like burning the money they have without compensation.
As a result of the growing outcry against this excruciating situation, Governors Bello Mohammed Matawalle of Zamfara state, Nasir El-rufai of Kaduna state and Yahaya Bello of Kogi state approached the Supreme Court to stop the federal government’s decision so that the old notes can fizzle our through a gradual process.
Little wonder that the people’s governor Matawalle fell among these strong-willed governors to again save his people from facing another tough time.
Since his inauguration as the governor of Zamfara state, Matawalle has discharged his sworn responsibilities in the best interest of Zamfara people, a quality yet to be equalled in the state.
Most prominent on the governor’s records is how he stood his grounds in the fight against bandits, kidnappers, cattle rustlers, and perpetrators of other heinous crimes who hitherto had made Zamfara state their hub.
Matawalle’s determination made it possible for the citizens to now sleep with both eyes closed and when another difficulty came calling on the people in the guise of naira redesign, making it virtually impossible for transactions, he moved along two of his other colleagues to see that the situation is eased up.
Such is the act of a concerned governor. No wonder, the APC where Matawalle is now governor in Zamfara has continued to receive defectors from other political parties and make it very difficult to defeat the APC.
Yusuf Idris Gusau,
APC Publicity Secretary,
Zamfara State
