The Zamfara State government has alleged that it has incontrovertible evidence against the immediate-past administration in the state led by Bello Matawalle, who is now the Minister of State for Defence, concerning the Gusau International (Cargo) Airport project.
Matawalle, last Friday, denied allegations of embezzling billions from the project.
However in a statement in Gusau Monday, the Spokesperson to the Zamfara Governor, Sulaiman Bala Idris, said the response by Matawalle exposed a “blatant violation of trust, and opened a pandora’s box.”
According to him, 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 N1 billion from the Local Government Joint Account on October 25th, 2021, and paid N825 million 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.
“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”.
Reacting, Matawalle said through his former Commissioner for Information, Ibrahim Dosara, that it is not surprising Lawal is bent on deceiving the people.
In a statement Matawalle’s ex-commissioner said: “It isn’t surprise to to see how the current Zamfara Gov Dauda Lawal Dare is punching his way to deceive the general public, as he used to be in all his previous records and dealings, in order to divert peoples attention from the slumber of his administration in dealing with the current escalating security challenges facing Zamfara State.
“Every body knows who is Dauda Lawal Dare when it comes to misleading general public, judging from his past records”.
