The Zamfara State commissioner for budget and planning, Abdulmalik Gajam, has accused former governor Bello Matawalle of granting asylum to bandits that were responsible for mindless killings in the state.
Gajam stated this while speaking on a Twitter Space hosted by Arewa Twitter on Saturday, November 4.
The commissioner noted that President Bola Tinubu did not do his due diligence before appointment Matawalle as the minister of state for defence.
According to the Gajam, Matawalle was only appointed to fill the Zamfara slot and not due to his capability.
“There is no five-kilometre road built in four years. Billions of Zamfara State’s money was spent doing nothing. From the inception of the contributory pension scheme, the Zamfara State Government never contributed to it for one day,” the commissioner said.
“The legacy that the past governor left is that he bought Hilux vehicles and dashed them to bandits. We have evidence. He granted asylum at the Government House to bandits. Even in the barbaric era, there has never been a time when an emir or a king granted asylum to somebody who killed other people without hesitation, kidnapped them for ransom and raped their girls. Are these people to sit on the tables with?
“When Matawalle came to office, the Federal Government bought some vehicles and gave them to the state. Most of them were bulletproof tankers. When we came into the office, we met them with flat tyres. This means they were not serviced at all. But, all these were provided for and removed from the state purse.
“It is in our government that we have said we would pay the police and army their earned allowances and service their vehicles so we would be able to protect our people. That was what we met. That is Zamfara State as we speak.
“We met a system where bandits were the kings. The government had to go to them to negotiate and dialogue. The same bandits are children who were neglected by the government. As they have taken to arms, they are now being visited regularly by the government. That is why we need to keep hammering on this. We can change the narratives but we must hold Matawalle’s government into account. We have to keep hitting on the people who killed Zamfara and are still extorting from Zamfara people.
“Matawalle was made minister simply because he is from Zamfara. He is occupying our slot. That slot should have been given to someone capable, one who believes in the right of people to live in peace and harmony. It could have been given to someone who respects the Constitution’s stance on the protection of lives and resources of citizens,” he added.
