By Valentine Amanze, Online Editor
Nigeria’s main opposition party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has alerted of a sinister plot by the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Federal Government to forcefully takeover the governance of Zamfara State.
It alleged that they had concluded plans to execute their plot through an imposition of an orchestrated state of emergency in Zamfara State.
The PDP, via its National Publicity Secretary, Mr. Kola Ologbondiyan, condemned the alleged plot.
It stated: “Our party rejects this attempt by power-mongers in the APC administration to undermine and subvert the democratic order in Zamfara State by creating the impression that the state government, under Governor Bello Muhammad Matawalle, is to blame for the failures of the APC-led federal government to contain insecurity in the state.
“It is instructive to recall that the plot by the APC to derail the Matawalle administration and forcefully takeover the control of the state started immediately after the Supreme Court handed him victory in the Zamfara State governorship election, a plot, which heightened after Governor Matawalle refused the pressure to defect to the APC.”
The PDP pointed out that it had on December 19, 2020 issued a statement to alert of plots by the National Caretaker Committee of the APC, using an impostor, as spokesperson, to heighten insecurity in the North West Nigeria.
“The PDP had in that statement, further alerted of conspiracies by the APC to use the said impostor to destabilize North West states, particularly Zamfara, by creating the space for acts of violence and blame it on Governor Matawalle.
“Our party had also expressed concerns on series of devious statements against Governor Matawalle by the APC, a party that has been exposed to be encouraging acts of terrorism, banditry and kidnapping in our country.
“We invite Nigerians to further note how the APC has been quiet over disturbing videos, which had gone viral, showing self-confessed bandits admitting their fury of being abandoned by the APC after the party used them to muscle the 2015 and 2019 elections,” it stated.
The PDP therefore demanded the APC to leave Governor Matawalle alone and take up their responsibility of confronting bandits, terrorists, kidnappers and vandals, particularly those they brought from other countries.
It however insisted that the statutory onus, under Nigeria’s democracy, is on President Muhammadu Buhari and the Federal Government to secure life and property in all parts of the nation, including Zamfara State.
It pointed out that the Matawalle administration adopted an intervention approach as a distressed measure following the failures of the Buhari Presidency to guarantee the security of lives and property in the state.
The PDP further said that Matawalle was not the first governor, particularly in the North West, to adopt such approach in the face of the huge incapacity of the Buhari administration to save lives.
“More so, there is escalated banditry, terrorism, kidnapping and other forms of violent acts in APC controlled states of the North West like Kaduna and Katsina; in the North East of Borno and Yobe as well as the North Central states of Niger, Nasarawa, Plateau and Kogi, yet no attempt has been made by the Buhari Presidency to intimidate the governors of the various states, seek to impose a state of emergency or declare such states as “no fly zone”’, it stated.
The party lamented that it was even more worrisome that the Buhari Presidency would gloss over Kaduna, Niger and Mr. President’s home state of Katsina, where killings, kidnapping and abduction have become a daily routine, only to be contemplating an emergency situation in Zamfara.
The PDP, however, advised that rather than the selective approach to fighting banditry, terrorism and kidnapping, the Buhari Presidency should go back to the drawing board and adopt a holistic approach to quell the prevailing insecurity in the nation.
It warned that it would not allow the Buhari Presidency to tag and intimidate Governor Matawalle for seeking to find solutions to a very depressing situation.
Consequently, the PDP directed Governor Matawalle to stop his intervention approach, while urging Nigerians to hold Buhari and his administration directly responsible for any further assault or killing of innocent citizens in Zamfara State.
The party also warned President Buhari to be mindful of the type of advice he receives from his officials in the security circle on this Zamfara security concerns, especially as there were allegations of hidden interest among his officials.
“President Buhari may wish to recall the allegations in the public space of alleged complicity by his National Security Adviser (NSA), Gen. Babagana Monguno, in the unfortunate situation in Zamfara state, upon which our party had called for investigation.
“Already, Governor Matawalle had declared that Mr. President was misinformed on the decision of imposing a “no fly zone’ on Zamfara, as recommended to him by Gen. Monguno,” it stated.