Zamfara: What’s Matawalle’s Agenda?

ISSUE

Louis Achi

Not unlike some medieval seer, the astute former labour leader and diminutive dynamite of Edo State politics, Senator Adams Oshiomhole, once peered into his crystalball and proclaimed that, “Once you join APC, your sins are forgiven.” The ex-national chair of the ruling party and former Edo governor made the quirky proclamation in January 2019 and strangely, his compelling decree has hardly been meaningfully rubbished to-date.

But while this peculiar rule may hold true in the APC, in the Peoples’ Democratic Party-ruled Zamfara State, it lacks significant traction and cuts little ice with Governor Dauda Lawal. As it were, these apparently contradictory philosophies have pitched Governor Lawal against the state’s former chief executive Bello Matawalle, whom Lawal insists, has many questions to answer on his stewardship. There is more.

It could be recalled that in what was probably the biggest upset of the March 18 2023 governorship elections, PDP’s Dauda Lawal routed APC’s erstwhile Governor Bello Matawalle of Zamfara State. Matawalle is now the Minister of Defense, courtesy of an adroit political soft-landing provided by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. The rest is history. Or is it?

It would appear that from his cosy perch as a defense minister, Matawalle is plotting disruptive interference of governance in his home state – directly and through proxies. But Governor Lawal would have none of that.

Currently, it has been alleged that Matawalle’s proxies in the form of some former commissioners who served under the former governor’s administration are pitching for the Zamfara State House of Assembly to impeach Governor Lawal, over spurious, harebrained allegations of corruption.

It could be recalled that in May, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) probed Matawalle over the alleged diversion of N70billion concerning the Gusau International Cargo Airport project and through the ex-governor’s proxies and contractors who received payment for contracts that were not executed. But many would laugh off the idea of an administration agency of the government-controlled ruling party probing a member of the same party. Oshiohmole had settled the incongruity of such possibility way back.

The ex-commissioners or Matawalle’s proxies are saying that Governor Lawal had planted the allegation in a bid to conceal his own misconduct. Many believe they need a better spin.

However, Matawalle has denied the allegations of embezzling billions from the Zamfara Cargo Airport project. But in a statement issued in Gusau, the spokesperson to Zamfara Governor, Sulaiman Bala Idris, explained that the response by Matawalle exposed a blatant violation of trust.

His words: “To avoid doubt, the embezzlement of resources from the people of Zamfara through the airport was just a tiny part of many other acts of theft and financial banditry committed by Bello Matawalle in various incomplete projects.

“The tragic financial situation the current administration met in Zamfara State is manifestly a product of the past government of Bello Matawalle, who, through a mere telephone call, directed the Ministry of Local Government in complete disregard of any due process to remove 1,000,000,000 billion Naira from the Local Government Joint Account on October 25th, 2021, and paid 825,000,000 million Naira to the contractors without any valuation.”

The statement read in part: “The Zamfara State Government would ordinarily not respond to an accused embezzler. However, as a responsible government, we feel compelled to provide the facts following his denial of the alleged embezzlement.

“It is doubtful that the project’s cost was reduced from 28 billion Naira to 11 billion Naira in round figures. No reputable bidder would agree to a drastic reduction of 61% in cost without a corresponding reduction in the scope of work. This raises questions about the integrity of the bidding process. Matawalle is seemingly trying to cast doubt on the credibility of the contractor.

“Matawalle has claimed that the Airport Project was financed through what he called ‘contract financing’; the former governor should have asked before embarrassing himself. It is known as the ‘Contract Financing Facility, CFF, which happens between the bank and the contractor.

“The government isn’t involved at all. All available documents indicate that the contractors were paid using funds from the state government and not through the Contract Financing Facility, CFF.

“We must emphasise that the claim that payments were made to the contractor solely based on certificates issued by the supervising ministry or agency is false. Our records clearly show that the three payments made to the contractor were not based on an accurate assessment of the work done and certified by the supervising ministry.

“Available records show that Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority, NCAA, and Nigeria Airspace Management Agency, NAMA, were only involved in the project after it had already begun, which goes against the standard practice in the aviation industry. Usually, they must be involved in all project stages, including planning, design, and implementation.”

It must be noted here that the position of the Minister of Defense is particularly important because of the critical statutory content it drives. The ministry has the statutory responsibility of overseeing and supervising the nation’s armed forces. Its leader who is a cabinet-level head reports directly to the President.

The Defense Ministry’s core mission is to provide timely and effective administrative and support services to enable the armed forces build and maintain a modern, compact, strong, professional, mission-capable and mission-ready forces, for national territorial/maritime/airspace defence and contributes to peacemaking and peace-keeping duties.

In all of these listed mandates none mentioned covert or overt interference with the governance trajectory of Governor Dauda Lawal of Zamfara State. The governor does not deserve distraction at this dangerous phase of the country’s socio-political evolution.

Governor Lawal recently reiterated his administration’s uncompromising position of not engaging in dialogue with bandits across Zamfara in sharp contrast with what his predecessor Matawalle did. He correctly stressed that no meaningful progress can be achieved without security.

The governor further elaborated the negative impact of negotiating with bandits, stressing that it only encourages the hoodlums and creates an atmosphere of fear and insecurity for law-abiding citizens. He also tasked political leaders and citizens to prioritise the state’s security over politics, emphasising that the peace and stability of Zamfara is non-negotiable. 

A key flagship programme in his six-point agenda is Security. The other five are – Agriculture and Food Security, Education, Healthcare, Economy and Empowerment

Governor Lawal is a nifty political scientist with top-draw diplomatic exposure who demands accountability from his colleagues, friends and foes alike. He impatiently rejects staying tamely at the end of received policy prescriptions. He rather covets knowledge-driven innovations, proactive engagement with stake-holders, policy makers and sure-footed action.

These dimensions have been boldly mirrored in his leadership of Zamfara State and perhaps not surprisingly brought him on collision course with politicians who want to undermine his governance trajectory. And this is what key stakeholders of the state believe that Bello Matawalle is plotting.

The question looms large: what really is Matawalle’s agenda?