I’m Having Bad Experience With PDP Govs, Says Matawalle

Bello Matawalle, governor of Zamfara, says the issue of the state’s gold reserve has instigated bad blood between him and some south south governors.

In October 2020, the Zamfara government had said it started its gold reserve to reduce dependence on federal allocations.

But Olamilekan Adegbite, minister of mines and steel development, had said the federal government reserves the exclusive right to ownership of mineral products in the state.

Commenting on the issue on Friday, Matawalle said  the All Progressives Congress (APC) rose to his defence even though governors from his party, peoples democratic party (PDP) chastised him on the gold issue.

the governor said he was surprised by the the reaction of his colleagues over the issue, adding that instead of his fellow PDP governors to rally round him and support him they were, in cahoot with the media, spreading misinformation about about the issue.

He also hailed David Umahi, governor of Ebonyi, to join the APC, over his decision to join APC.

He said he would not castigate Umahi’s for his move, saying the governor’s decision to dump the opposition for the ruling party was spurred by the internal wrangling and animosity in the pary

“his bold decision rather than condemn him because everyone feels welcome only in a house where he feels comfortable”. a statement by Zailani Bappa, his spokesman, quoted the governor as saying.

The governor averred that if the disunity and unease that pervades the party persists it will affect the party’s chance in 2023 because a divided cannot stand.

“If this trend of generating bad blood amongst us continues unabated, our great party will increasingly be on the receiving end as we move towards the year 2023,” Matawalle was quoted to have said.

“I am having a very bad experience of recent from some of my PDP governor colleagues which I still find very puzzling. For instance, the South-South Governors accusing me in the media are PDP Governors and they are the same people who brewed controversy over the so-called Zamfara Gold, premised on deliberate misinformation and outright lies.

“Surprisingly, it is the APC Federal Government which has all the correct records on the gold mining issue that came out to defend me in this saga. As PDP colleagues, I expected the Governors to contact me first and find out my own side of the story before unleashing their venom in the media.

“As the brouhaha lasted, I commend the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, His Excellency Muhammadu Buhari, for being supportive of our efforts to organise the economic sector in the state to avoid using the mineral deposits to promote insecurity in our dear state.”