Gov Matawalle Goofed on CBN’s Emefiele

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Apparently eyeing crumbs from the incoming administration, Governor Bello Matawalle of Zamfara State has morphed into an ‘interim advisor’ to both President Muhammadu Buhari and President-elect Bola Ahmed Tinubu on what transition/governance modus to implement, writes Louis Achi

Rightly or wrongly, many believe that Governor Bello Matawalle of Zamfara State is being haunted by the curse he placed on himself. Of the 11 governors who sought reelection in the March 18 governorship poll, Matawalle is the only one who flopped. Worse, it’s doubtful whether the former teacher who defected to the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, has learnt his lessons.

On Tuesday, Governor Bello Matawalle of Zamfara State, urged President Muhammadu Buhari to prohibit the Central Bank Governor, CBN, Dr. Godwin Emefiele from going on leave before the inauguration of president-elect, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu.

Matawalle, in a statement, said the President must stop certain MDA heads from proceeding on study leave, saying they must give an account of all developments under their watch to the incoming administration.

His words: “If the Leave of any critical officer has been approved, as reported in the media, the President should cancel it in the interest of peaceful transfer of power, accountability and good governance.

“Two of my brother-governors and I took the Federal Government to court over the ill-advised policy and fought resolutely until we got a respite for our people from Emefiele and company.”

“It’s also not in the interest of the country, which the president has always promoted and championed. This is my appeal and why I have decided to speak out as a patriotic Nigerian and concerned governor.”

Governor Matawalle’s ludicrous plea came some 48 hours after the Presidency dismissed the old-wives-tales concocted by some forces antagonistic to certain key policies birthed by the CBN governor.

As a state chief executive who has access to a wide swathe of information, why would he have fallen for a piece of contrived misinformation and allowed himself to be unduly swayed? He clearly goofed here.

The Presidency had said it was unaware of the purported decision of President Buhari granting study leave to the CBN Governor Emefiele. The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Malam Garba Shehu, said this while reacting to inquiries from the media.

His words: “If the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, has been granted study leave supposedly by President Muhammadu Buhari, this is unknown to us. It is also unknown to the President’s secretariat headed by the Chief of Staff.”

Apparently, Governor Matawalle’s main beef with Dr. Emefiele pivots around the Naira redesign policy birthed by the CBN-led Emefiele and backed by President Muhammadu Buhari. He is also using the spin as a bait to hook Tinubu. But the Northern-based Arewa Youths Assembly, AYA had a fitting reposte for the governor who abysmally failed his Zamfara State constituency security wise and in all human development indices.

According to the Northern-based Arewa Youths Assembly, AYA, the Naira redesign policy reduced banditry and terrorism in the North and the group blasted Governor Matawalle for promoting fake news against CBN Governor Emefiele.

The youth group on Tuesday lauded Dr. Emefiele over the recent naira redesign policy, insisting the decision stopped insecurity, curtailed corruption, and dropped the prices of commodity immediately.

In a statement signed by the Publicity Secretary of the group, Alhaji Aliyu Sani, the youth assembly stressed that the problems only returned after cash started flowing. Hear AYA: “People were no longer safe and bandits hit Zamfara, Kaduna, Minna, and other parts of the country.

“For this alone, Emefiele should be given a gold medal and celebrated. He helped President Muhammadu Buhari abide by the constitutional stipulation that security of lives of citizens is paramount.”

While urging President-elect Tinubu to stay away from Matawalle, the group stated that “The North has many qualified and respectable persons that will fit into the presidency of Tinubu, Bello Matawalle is not part of them.”

The Northern youth group also took a swipe at the embattled Zamfara State over his needless attack on Emefiele, insisting that the currency policy was only rejected by people like the governor because of his ‘selfish interest’.

Hear them: “In all that Emefiele has done with the blessings of the Commander-in-Chief, his activities have been completely transparent and accountable. The records are there.  The world is digital, every naira, every kobo is accounted for how it comes in and how it is spent.”

It could be recalled that in October 2019, a committee set up by the Zamfara governor headed by a former Inspector-General of Police Muhammad Abubakar disclosed that bandits had collected over N3billion as ransoms from families of abducted in the state.

The Committee said that 4,963 women had been widowed, 25,050 children orphaned and 190,340 displaced by bandits. But Matawalle failed to implement the major recommendations of the committee which prescribed stern sanctions against those in crimes across the state.

Rather strangely, in April 2022, the Zamfara governor distributed 260 luxury cars to traditional rulers after accusing them of abetting banditry. Matawalle had frequently blamed traditional rulers in the state for aggravating the insecurity and humanitarian crisis in the state by aiding the terrorists, also known as bandits. The cars included several 2019 Cadillac models.

The gunmen in Zamfara primarily attack rural and farming communities. Many communities in the state now pay protection taxes to these gunmen. But increasingly with upscaled empowerment they have taken their bloody game to Zamfara towns.

According to Matawalle’s spokesperson Zailani Bappa, the governor dethroned two first-class emirs for allegedly supporting bandits. But last month, Matawalle reinstated dethroned Emir of Yandoto, Aliyu Marafa who was accused of turbaning bandits’ leader Ado Aliero as Sariki Fulani in July 2022.

It could be recalled that Governor Matawalle actually lost the 2019 election to the APC but came to power by virtue of the Supreme Court judgment which nullified the Zamfara APC governorship primaries a week to the May 29, 2019 inauguration of a new government.

Basking in the exhilaration of his victory, Matawalle swore not to leave the PDP, even calling on God to punish him if he decided to leave the party. In viral video Matawalle was heard saying in Hausa, “If I ever betray PDP, may I not live in peace for the rest of my life, I swear by Allah. If I can leave PDP or cheat any of our members, may Allah punish me.”

However, in June 2021, flowing from pressures from APC governors, Matawalle forgot the oath and officially defected from the PDP to the APC. He announced his defection to the APC in Gusau at a special grand rally to receive him to the party, which was organised by the then National Caretaker Committee of the APC led by Governor Mai Mala Buni of Yobe State.

“As from today, I, Bello Matawalle Maradun, governor of Zamfara, am happy to announce my defection from the PDP to the APC. As from today, I am a full APC member and leader of APC in Zamfara,” he said. A gambling Matawalle lost his reelection bid on the platform of the APC in the March 18 governorship election.

With a total of 377,726 votes, Dauda Lawal Dare of the PDP defeated incumbent Governor Matawalle, who polled 311,976 votes.

With less than two weeks to the inauguration of a new administration, many observers are agreed that Governor Matawalle is playing the old political survivalist game with eyes locked on gaining a political appointment with the impending Tinubu administration.

But many have also wondered why he didn’t simply borrow a leaf from the Kwankwaso playbook and fly to France to directly consult with the Jagaban. Is he now grazing at a lower level of the political eco-system – out of the Madugu’s league – as his quirky tenure wraps up? By the way, he has to account for all the security votes he purportedly spent to vehicles and motorbikes for bandits in his state. Is he working to divert attention from all that?

The unfolding scenario may have persuaded many to truly believe that Governor Matawalle is indeed being haunted by the curse he placed on himself. Will the Jagaban cancel the curse and provide some juicy palliatives. Big question