Matawalle denies sponsoring terrorists, says Zamfara was colony of banditry before he came to power

Yusuf Bello| Bello Matawalle, the governor of Zamfara state has denied allegation that he is a major sponsor of bandits in the northwest, saying he finds it insulting for the ruling All Progressives Congress could accuse him of such a heinous act.

It will be recalled that the APC accused last Thursday accused an unnamed governor in North-West of sponsoring banditry in the region.

But responding to the allegation in a series of Tweets on Sunday, Matawallewho was elected on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party in 2019, said the state was “a colony of banditry in the whole world” during the APC administration of his predecessor, Abdul’aziz Yari.

He noted that though the insecurity problem has not been totally eliminated in Zamfara, terror attacks have drastically reduced since his assumption of office.

The Tweets read, “I find it insulting that the APC is accusing me of sponsoring bandits in my own state. We all are living witnesses to the fact that during APC’s tenure, Zamfara State was adjudged as a colony of banditry in the whole world.

“We are not claiming that insecurity has totally been eliminated in Zamfara but it is on record that terror attacks have reduced drastically in the state in less than two years than APC’s unfortunate eight years when people were running away from the state.

“This is a malicious calumny by the ruling party, releasing a statement as sensitive as that, knowing fully how miserable they governed the state for the past years. Their statement is not only laughable but shows the type of leadership they have.”