Rumours surrounding the warrant search for Former Governor of Zamfara State, Bello Matawalle on the alleged fraud of 70 billion Naira taken from the state accounts have since been clarified by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission to be untrue. Following this, it was also reported that up to 53 vehicles were seized from the former governor’s home which were also alleged to belong to the state.
In recent news, the court on Sunday ordered the return of the vehicles to the governor’s home. The cars were returned in accordance with the Federal High Court’s ruling, according to Yazid Abubakar, the state’s police public relations officer, in a telephone discussion on Saturday.
Governor Dauda Lawal of Zamfara accused Matawalle of fleeing with 17 government cars and stealing items from the state government building, including televisions and stoves, two days after entering office. Eight Sports Utility Vehicles (SUVs) and a couple armoured cars were reportedly among the vehicles detained during a search on Matawalle’s GRA home in Gusau.
In an interview with ARISE NEWS on Monday, Ibrahim Dosara, Immediate past Commissioner of Information for Zamfara State that the state’s current governor, Dauda Lawal should have taken the matter to court for proper handling of the case and explanation on the issue rather than dragging it on for social media trials.
He began by commending the past governor for his efforts to maintain peace despite disquiet of killings and kidnappings in the state even in his early days in office before “outside and inside collaborators sabotaged that effort”.
“It is very unfortunate that a governor who lead for four years, two weeks after leaving his office, you broke into his house and took away all his vehicles as well as other personal effects. This is very wrong, it has not been done anywhere. And we expect the governor will sit properly and face challenges of the state which is security.
“The present governor said the former governor took away 17 government vehicles but in the invasion and evacuation 53 vehicles were carted away from the house. Even before the coming as governor of Zamfara state, Matawalle is a car dealer even in the United States.
Some of the vehicles were donated to him by friends and allies for campaign.”
He later stated that the governor was entitled to most of these cars as that were campaign vehicles which were branded for the presidential and gubernatorial campaign of 2023 as Matawalle was the North-West region APC campaign coordinator. Asides that there were cars which were to be changed for the governor yearly which the former governor was entitled to. He added that commissioners who worked with the previous governor were also entitled to those cars which were also seized.
“When the same arrangement was made for Abdul’Azeez Yari, there was no where Matawalle asked Abdul’Azeez Yari to return those vehicles entitled to him.”
In relation to his dispute with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and its chairman, Mr. Abdulrasheed Bawa, Alhaji Bello Matawalle, the departing governor of Zamfara state, has filed a plea in the Court of Public Opinion. The following points were presented by him for the Court’s consideration: (1) Whether the EFCC should just investigate governors and their commissioners while federal government officials are equally corrupt but the anti-graft agency is turning a blind eye; (2) Does the EFCC have a moral right to label him corrupt since its chairman reportedly wanted a $2 million bribe from him? (3) Should the EFCC also expose the world proof of federal corruption?
Alhaji Dosara’s response to questions as to whether this was true were “when we reach that bringe we will cross it” and that Matawalle wants them to go to court to “let the law take its place”.
Amongst issues surrounding Matawalle’s case was a claim by the current governor that 2 billion Naira in Vehicles were unaccounted for in the records of the government as well as a substantial amount of debt left behind with an empty treasury. Yet the former commissioner of information stated that vehicles were commissioned to security forces who can account for them as a way to aid their operations.
“Well you see why we don’t do government hand over on media at all. We have records that those vehicles were given to security agencies to aid their operations”
“we had wanted the current governor to invite the former governor, who is ready to come, to explain to him but not on social media to start castigating and blowing things out of proportion.”
Glamour Adah
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