The Minister of State for Defence, Dr. Bello Matawalle has said that he is willing to welcomes Zamfara State Governor, Dr. Dauda Lawal to the All Progressives Congress (APC).
According to a statement by the state’s former Commissioner for Information, Ibrahim Dosara, while receiving thousands of his supporters who paid him a Sallah homage on Sunday, the immediate past Governor of the state described the APC as a party of leaders with humility and respect, and advised Lawal to join the progressives for progress of the state.
The Minister said that, instead of the governor trying to sneak into the party, he should come out in the open to follow the proper channel.
He said he has no grudges with the governor in joining the party and therefore urged him to embrace the APC to join the trailblazers of security, progress, developments, peace and tranquility.
Matawalle said that President Bola Tinubu, as a progressives leader, is a good manager of peace and tranquility and is always focusing on the development of the country.
He assured his supporters of his commitment to their welfare and wellbeing, and urged them to continue to support the present administration for the realisation of its Renewed Hope Agenda, particularly in the areas of security, agriculture, health, social wellbeing and economic development.
Matawalle further said that the President has the state at heart and is always looking forward to salvaging its current situation of insecurity and economic hardship. He then called on the people of the state to give their maximum support and cooperation to this laudable desire of the President.
The Minister recalled the efforts by the Tinubu administration in eliminating several terrorists kingpins and their foot soldiers who were hitherto terrorising the state, the region and the county in general.
According to him the President has recently ordered the security operatives to bring to an end, the spate of insecurity in Northern Nigeria before the end of the year, and the the Ministry of Defence and the security high commands are tirelessly working out modalities to ensure compliance with the presidential directives.
Matawalle however accused the state government of not doing very well in terms of fighting banditry, but rather ventured into deceiving the people.
He recalled that, in his time as the governor, people enjoyed and witnessed rapid and meticulous clamping down on security, freedom, welfare and social wellbeing of the people, unlike the current situation under the Lawal administration where people, including members of his party, the Peoples Democratic Party, are grumbling of the type of leadership in the state.
The former governor, said that the state received about N3 billion to N4 billion monthly from the federation account, as against between N19 billion to N24 billion now.
He therefore challenged Lawal to disclose the amount of money he is receiving monthly, to justify the development projects he is claiming to have executed so far in the state.
