Chuks Okocha in Abuja

The Minister of State for Defence, Bello Matawalle, has challenged Governor Dauda Lawal of Zamfara State to stop his ‘hide and seek’ game over secret plans to defect from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Matawalle, a former governor of Zamfara State, said instead of Lawal to be hiding in the day and appearing at night, he should be bold enough to come out in the open and follow the proper channel to join the APC as against the kind of game he was playing.

This was as the North Central wing of the APC has  called on the  Plateau State Governor, Caleb Mutfwang, to defect from the PDP to the APC.  This is coming after the defection of the Akwa Ibom State Governor, Pastor Umo Eno, over the weekend.

Matawalle, who spoke in Maradun when he received his supporters who paid him a Sallah homage, said the APC was a party of leaders with humility and respect, and therefore advised Lawal to join the progressives through laid down process for the progress of the state.

A statement by Ibrahim Dosara, former Commissioner for Information in Zamfara State, quoted Matawalle as saying he would harbour no grudges if Lawal joined the APC.

According to the minister, “President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, as a progressives leader, is a good manager of peace and tranquility and is always focusing on the development of the country and welcomes all wishing to join the APC.”

He assured his teeming supporters of his commitment to their welfare and wellbeing and urged them to continue to support the administration of Tinubu for the realisation of its Renewed Hope Agenda, particularly in the areas of security, agriculture, health, social wellbeing and economic development.

He said Tinubu had Zamfara at heart and was always looking forward to salvaging its current insecurity situation and economic hardship.

The minister noted the efforts by the Tinubu administration in eliminating several terrorists Kingpins and their foot soldiers, who were hitherto terrorising Zamfara State, the Northwest geopolitical zone and the county at large.

He also said Tinubu recently ordered security operatives to bring to an end, the spate of insecurity in northern Nigeria before the end of the year, adding that the Federal Ministry of Defence and the security high commands were working out modalities and modus operandi to ensure compliance with the presidential directives.

Matawalle accused Lawal of failing to do the needful in the fight against banditry in the state, but instead, preferred to deceive the people.

According to him, when he served as the governor of the state, people enjoyed and witnessed rapid development and meticulous clamping down on insecurity, and promoted freedom, welfare and social wellbeing of the people of state.

“Unlike the current happenings under Lawal’s administration in the state, where people including members of the PDP are grumbling under the current leadership in the state, these were far better in the state.

Matawalle noted that unlike his tenure with little resources of between N3 to N4 billion per month, the present administration in the state receives between 19 to 24 billion naira monthly from federal allocation.

He, therefore, challenged Lawal to disclose the amount of money accruing to the state on monthly basis to justify the development projects he claimed to have executed.

APC Backs Call for Mutfwang to Join APC

The North-Central APC Forum has called on the  Plateau State Governor, Caleb Mutfwang, to defect from the PDP to the APC, saying its call was supported by the party’s national leadership.

The Forum has been urging Mutfwang to join the APC. But the campaign has met resistance from some APC leaders in the state, who feared that his defection might automatically hand him control of the party’s structure and the 2027 governorship ticket.

Tensions rose after the Forum endorsed the “Green Cap Movement”—a symbol associated with Mutfwang and his supporters—for the 2027 governorship election in Plateau.

While the Forum insisted this was part of its strategy to woo the governor, some party leaders condemned the move as anti-party and called for sanctions.

As a result, there have been calls for the suspension of the Forum’s chairman, Alhaji Saleh Zazzaga.

 Notably, Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda, APC’s 2023 gubernatorial candidate, has questioned Zazzaga’s loyalty and commitment to the party.

In a statement in Abuja, Zazzaga, a member of the APC Campaign Council for the 2023 elections, emphasised that the Forum’s outreach to Mutfwang had the blessing of the APC national leadership.

“The North-Central APC Forum is warning those opposing Governor Caleb Mutfwang’s potential defection to the APC to desist from their unprogressive stance. Our campaign is based on a directive from above,” the statement read.

Zazzaga criticised those opposing the move, labeling them as the true perpetrators of anti-party activities, and warned them to “tread with caution,” asserting that efforts to welcome Mutfwang were intended to strengthen the party, not divide it.

“The APC belongs to no individual. As stakeholders committed to the party’s progress in the North-Central, we believe progressive leaders like Governor Mutfwang should be welcomed,” he added.