The Minister of State for Defence, Bello Matawalle has accused Zamfara State Governor Lawal Dauda of sponsoring people to lie against him.
This is as he vehemently refuted allegations that he could be removed as a minister through orchestrating false claims against him.
Matawalle, who served as the governor of Zamfara State from 2019 to 2023, lost his bid for a second term in March to Dauda of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Matawalle was also accused of instructing 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 contractors without proper valuation.
He was accused by the Zamfara State Government of financial impropriety, including embezzlement related to the state cargo airport project.
In the interview with newsmen Matawalle stressed that the state’s challenges existed prior to his administration.
He stated that the issue of the airport road, where, after Dauda became governor, he initially promised to repair the airport road but instead used a bulldozer to destroy the road that Matawalle had already constructed.
According to him, “On the issue of the airport road, after Dauda became governor, he deceived the people by saying he was going to repair the airport road, only for him to take a bulldozer there and scrap the road we already constructed.”
The former Governor alleged that the state governor engaged in these actions to humiliate him and to suggest that Matawalle had not contributed to the state’s development.
He asserted that the governor had done the same with the Ruga project, despite investments made, and ultimately harmed the people of Zamfara.
The minister further argued that the current governor’s actions not only cheated the people of Zamfara but also betrayed his own responsibility to protect the lives and properties of the state’s citizens.
