A Forner Special Adviser during the erstwhile administration of Bello Matawalle in Zamfara State, Dr Suleiman Shuaibu Shinkafi, has expressed dismay over the protest against the former Governor now Minister of State for Defence, insisting that the state was now in dire need of security and not sponsored protests…CONTINUE READING FULL ARTICLE HERE
Speaking in an interview with journalists in Kaduna, Shinkafi condemned the protest staged in Abuja against the Minister and described the allegations levelled against the Minister as frivolous.
“I want to categorically tell you that those people were hired to do that. It’s a sponsored and coordinated act just to defame, to assassinate his character. They don’t need to go to EFCC to protest, to remind. Bello Matawalle is not the only person who has a case in Nigeria. Many are having cases involving Nigeria and if we go by these cases, Nigeria will stop.”
He said they were putting eyes on Matawalle because there were some enemies of Nigeria, enemies of progress who did not want Matawalle to continue doing the best he was doing for the country.
“We’ve recommended Matawalle, so many NGOs have recommended Matawalle both within and outside the country as the best Minister in terms of Defence, the best Minister that is performing beyond doubt.If he can do his work righteously, and diligently, why are these people haunting him? I’m calling on these people to leave Matawalle alone because we would no longer fold our arms to allow these faceless people to be attacking our principal who is doing his best to restore peace in Nigeria.”
“I believe Tinubu is happy with him, the whole country is happy with him, even foreign countries are happy with him. Why are his political opponents sponsoring people against him? These sponsored activities cannot make Tinubu remove Matawalle from his seat because he is doing a good job. Since he is doing a good job, let him continue doing a good job. He is trying to secure this country. His work as the Minister of State for Defence is to protect our lives and property and he is doing it.”
He said they knew the sponsors of the faceless anti-Matawalle protesters and were prepared to come out and protest against them in due course.
“If you say the EFCC should revisit Matawalle, who told you Matawalle stole money? I was part of his government and we left N11 billion in the Zamfara State treasury. We left houses, we left hotels, we left shares, we left a lot of money in the treasury. So if you said Matawalle stole N700 billion, where is the money? How did Zamfara State get N700 billion? The whole money allocation for Zamfara State is 4 billion, sometimes 3 billion. How come in one year Matawalle gathered 700 billion and goes with it? Where did Zamfara State get this money?”
He alleged that those who made the accusations were not APC members as portrayed but some elements being used by the Minister’s opponents to smear his image.”
He called on APC members in Zamfara State, particularly the major stakeholders to eschew the differences amongst them and bring the party under one roof to avoid having problems in 2027.
” I want to call on APC members in Zamfara to stop fueling this issue. APC is a united party. Let us be under one roof otherwise, we are going to have problems….why are we creating problems by ourselves, do you want us to lose 2027? I’m calling on all our stakeholders to come together under one roof and face our challenges. Our problem now is not to sponsor protest but how to get rid of insecurity.
He said their problem is how to survive in Zamfara State because they are no longer safe due to terrorism, a situation that has made farmers unable to access their farms even though it’s a rainy season.
While commending the military and other security agents for their sacrifice in Zamfara State, he lamented that the state was still under siege as terrorists killed locals intermittently.
He therefore called on the Federal Government to declare a state of emergency in Zamfara state to stop further killings by terrorists and restore peace across the state…CONTINUE READING FULL ARTICLE HERE
