By Ahmed Attahir Gusau
Governor Bello Matawalle of Zamfara state has said bad blood in the Peoples Democratic Party, (PDP) was partly responsible for the defection of Governor David Umahi of Ebonyi state to the All Progressive Congress, (APC).
Matawalle, in a statement signed by the Special Adviser on Public Enlightenment, Media and Communication, Mallam Zailani Bappa on Friday and made available to SINL Nigeria Online said he would rather commend Umahi for his bold decision than condemn him, saying everyone feels welcome only in a house where he feels comfortable.
“If this trend of generating bad blood amongst us continue unabated, our great party will increasingly be on the receiving end as we move towards the year 2023”, he said.
“I am having a very bad experience recently 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”, he lamented.
“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”, Matawalle said.
“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”.
He maintained that the Federal Government is currently issuing licences to deserving Companies to operate in the mining sector in the state.
“The biggest company with an investment of billions of naira is owned by a Nigerian from Anambra state. And I wonder where the idea of Zamfara state owning the gold mines emanated from”.
The Governor explained that the state Government does not have a hand in any of the mining activity in the state, stressing that the constitution does not empower the state.
“I call on the South-South Governors to eschew intellectual idleness and support its people to operate modular refineries as provided by the law and lift their people out of fear rather than sit behind and start chasing shadows than substance” the statement concluded.
