THE MANY LIES OF GOVERNOR DAUDA LAWAL IN HIS MONDAY 14TH APRIL 2025 ARISE TV INTERVIEW - A RESPONSE BY THE FORMER ZAMFARA GOVERNOR BELLO MATAWALLE AND NOW MINISTER OF STATE FOR DEFENCE.
Gentlemen of the press,
Good afternoon.
We are compelled by the circumstances of the above subject matter, in which our government, under the leadership of His Excellency, former governor of Zamfara state Hon Bello Mohammed Matawallen Maradun MON, Shatiman Zamfara and Barden Kasar Hausa was erroneously but intentionally accused of wrong doings while in office as the Gov of Zamfara state by the current governor Dr. Dauda Lawal, when he granted an interview to Arise TV news during its Monday 14th April 2025 morning show.
We would have ignored the interview for it's inconsistencies, lack of focus and credibility, but for the members of the public, who are either not indigenes or Zamfara or are unaware of the happenings in the state for the past 2 years of Dauda Lawal as the governor of the state
We are obliged to respond to some tissues of lies and concoctions of the Gov in the interview; Vis
1. Gov Dauda Lawal claimed that the Matawalle government left only Four (4) million Naira in the government coffers. This is a blatant lie. For the avoidance of doubt, the former governor left the following in the government treasury on the day he handed over power to the current Gov. Dr. Dauda Lawal.
A 14 billion bond proceeds.
B. 2.6 billion accresals world bank funds
C. 6.3 billion UBE grants
D. 2.7 billion NG cares World Bank funds investment, which yielded the 42 billion Naira for the government of Gov Dauda Lawal.
2. The Gov also claimed that the Matawalle government left a backlog of 4 and a half months salaries. I don't know if we have half month salary in the civil service scheme. For the record, the government left a backlog of 3 months salaries because even before taking over power as the Gov of the state, Dauda Lawal threatened all banks having arrangements with our government ( financial mechanisms) where they grant us facility to enable us pay workers salaries each month and deduct same in the next cash allocation due to the financial situation being faced then, not only by the Zamfara state government, but all other state governments of the federation. It was on record that our average cash allocation then was 3.2 billion Naira monthly, which was grossly inadequate to pay workers salaries and allowances totalling 2.1 billion Naira, as well run other essential services, including health, power supply and logistics services for the state huge numbers of visitors coming for various official government businesses. This is coupled with the mounting security challenges facing the state. The current Governor, Dauda Lawal, is therefore responsible for the none payment of the 3 months workers salaries which he exaggerated to 4 and a half months period under review.
3. Gov Dauda Lawal also claimed that the security arrangements he puts in place have stopped bandits from attacking, abducting and killing innocent people in the state. It is unfortunate for a sitting Gov to commit purgery, as it is an open secret that up till the time Dauda was in the studio, bandits were busy attacking innocent farmers and businessmen in Morai town of Talata Mafara local government area of the state, during which an unspecified number of people were killed, with yet another unspecified number abducted. It is disheartening to hear that his security arrangements have stopped bandits attacks, killings and abduction in Zamfara, while he was busy arguing with the journalist asking him questions in the studio over the number of people abducted recently in Tsafe town, one of the biggest local government areas of the state. For the fact that the Gov was into argument with the Arise TV anchor over the number of abducted persons, showed that he was not on top of issues bordering security of lives and property of the citizens, which is his primary responsibility.
Again, it is a well known fact that, half of the number of those his government recruited as vigilant groups (ASKARAWAN ZAMFARA) have been killed by bandits because of the poor arrangements in their recruitment, training equipment and welfare. For the Governor to claim the success recorded by the federal government in tackling insecurity in Zamfara in particular and the northwest region in general, is laughable and a disservice to the people of the state, the region and the country in general.
Everyone knows that the Governor had accused the military of not doing well in dealing with the security challenges in the state in particular and the region in general, as well as accused the government of President Bola Tinubu of lack of political will in tackling security issues in the state, but now claiming the huge success of both the President and the military in dealing with the bandits, resulting from the directives of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for the Command and Control Centre (CCC) to relocate to Sokoto State under the watch of the ministry of defence, coordinated by the minister of state for Sefence, Bello Matawalle.
4. Governor Dauda Lawal also said he has settled all WAEC and NECO fees owed by the previous governments. Our question to the Governor is, why are many of the indigenes of the state being denied access to the National Youth Service Scheme due to lack of WAEC and NECO results and certificates? Why were the over 374 indigenes of the state enlisted into the military, police and other paramilitary formations rejected due to lack of WAEC and NECO results /certificates?
5. Governor Dauda also said there was no road one can drive on for 200 metres throughout the state when he took over power as the Governor, but contradicted himself when he was asked why he neglected other local government areas, concentrating his government development projects in Gusau, his hometown. Governor Dauda replied by saying that other local government areas have enough roads to the extent that only donkeys are using them.
6. On the issue of minimum wage, Governor Dauda Lawal said he met the state workers receiving as low as 7,000 Naira, but he refused to tell his viewers that even the 30,000 Naira minimum wage tamplet his government used at its initial stage was designed by the Matawalle administration and was about to be implemented when the sudden change of government occurred. For the record, the 7,000 Naira was just a social security scheme designed by former Governor Matawalle to be paying unemployed youth in the state to curve the activities of restiveness among the youth, considering the spate of insecurity in the state. This was why the former governor created the ministry of Humanitarian intervention services. So, it was a social security policy for the youth, not the main civil service stream. Governor Dauda Lawal should have been honest enough to tell his viewers this fact, rather than mislead them to believing Matawalle was paying 7,000 naira as salary to the state workers.
7. The 70, 000 naira minimum wage: Thanks to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for his subsidy removal and re-enforcement of the state governments economic power from the fuel subsidy. At the time Gov Matawalle left office, governments were nearing collapsing financially. However, the fuel subsidy fund has saved the state governments financial status, so much so that some of them received up to the tune of over 20 billion Naira monthly, as against the 3.2 billion Naira Matawalle monthly allocation from the Federal Government then. Despite the 19 billion Naira Gov Dauda is receiving currently as monthly allocation from the federal government, the Gov became the last to implement the directive of the Federal Government to pay workers 70,000 Naira minimum wage. It was only last month that Gov Lawal paid the minimum wage, almost 4 months after it was implemented by his colleagues. More disappointing is the way and manner the minimum wage was implemented by the Zamfara government. No worker was paid 70,000 Naira. It was 68,000 instead and those already above 70,000 were paid between 4,000 to 9, 000 as minimum wage increment.
This was why the labour unions in the state went on rampage, protesting the injustice of the state government.
Well, one shouldn't be supprised as this was not the first or second time Governor Dauda Lawal appeared on local, national and international TV screens and radio waves to tell his viewers and listeners things that were not entirely true. I belive members of the public will not forget too soon, the Gov's interview with BBC (radio and tv), Channels, Arise and TVC.
Kai Gov Dauda Lawal, kaji tsoron Allah, don akwai ranar gobe kiyama. You will surely account for your stewardship!!!
Thank you and God bless.
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