By Anwar Usman
The All Progressives Congress Zamfara State chapter on Thursday applauded President Bola Tinubu for ignoring calls for the dismissal of his Minister of State for Defence, Bello Matawalle, making it clear that the allegation he sponsored some of the bandits terrorising the state was unfounded.
The party also called on the current governor, Dauda Lawal, to consider deploying both the kinetic and non-kinetic approaches used by his predecessor to combat the worsening insecurity in the state.
The appeal came two days after hundreds of women and youths from the state partake in a protest at the Department of State Services headquarters in Abuja over the worsening insecurity in Zamfara.
The protesters also suspect the immediate past governor of the state for the activities of the bandits, which they said were a result of his alleged collaboration with them during his administration.
The angry protesters, who arrived in about 12 long buses, were restricted from accessing the premises of the security agency.
While addressing journalists in Abuja, the Zamfara APC Youth Coordinator, Ubaidullah Kaura, expressed concern that Lawal, who won the election on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party, had failed to build on the progress made by his predecessor, particularly in the area of security.
Kaura further reiterated that allegiance to different political parties should not be an excuse for not seeking continuity in governance.
He said, “We want to use this opportunity to extend our gratitude to President Bola Tinubu for trusting Matawalle and allowing him to continue serving as the Minister of State for Defence in his cabinet.
“Those protesters going from the EFCC to DSS alleging that Matawalle is involved with bandits and demanding his sacking are sponsored groups. We thank God the presidency, through Bayo Onanuga, has denied this. Even the NSA to the President, Nuhu Ribadu, has also cleared the air after his investigation.
“During the Matawalle administration, security challenges were tackled effectively with a balanced approach that combined both kinetic and non-kinetic strategies. We urged Governor Lawal to revisit the handover notes left by the minister and do all that is necessary to tackle insecurity in the state.”