Rejoinder.
By Bashir Ahmad Gusau
Bello Matawalle: A Sitting Governor Whose Defeat by a First-Timer Politician Was the Most Embarrassing in Nigeria’s History
I think Mr. Yusuf Idris is playing with fire with his recent media outbursts, which will only expose his failed political principal, Bello Matawalle, the “lobbied Minister of State for Defence.”
Firstly, I want to remind Mr. Idris that Aminu Sani Jaji has broken a political record by winning every election he has contested in Zamfara since he joined politics. He has never lost any election.
Jaji contested for ANPP Chairman and won with a landslide victory. He contested for Birnin Magaji Local Government Council Chairman and won. He also contested for the federal House of Representatives twice and won with a wide margin.
Dr. Aminu Sani Jaji’s political transformation is an indication that he represents a better choice, and his record will teach Bello Matawalle and his allies, Turkur Danfulani and Mal. Yusuf Idris Gusau, a lesson.
However, it is essential to remind Yusuf Idris that Bello Matawalle’s defeat in the 2023 general elections was the most humiliating for a sitting governor in Nigeria’s history since the return to civil rule in 1999.
As a sitting governor contesting against a first-time politician, Matawalle lost even in his local government of Maradun. He won only three local governments with massive rigging, while the first-time politician, Dauda Lawal, won ten local governments with a wide margin.
The celebrations in Zamfara when Matawalle was defeated were unprecedented in Nigeria’s democratic history. Even Turkur Danfulani, the party chairman at the time, could not vote in his polling unit in Gidan Roba, as women had assembled to undress him if he had attempted to vote.
Most of Matawalle’s supporters, including some commissioners and political appointees, were humiliated as voters rejected them. Except in Birnin Magaji Local Government, where Aminu Jaji ensured the APC won the five wards that held elections due to insecurity.
Before leaving office, Matawalle allegedly engaged in financial looting, which has never been seen in Nigeria’s history. The Zamfara State government exposed these atrocities, including the looting of government assets, such as cooking stoves, ceiling fans, and air conditioners.
The EFCC Chairman, Abdulrashid Bawa, also accused Matawalle of carelessly looting Zamfara funds to the tune of over N70 billion. These allegations have yet to be cleared.
Furthermore, Matawalle’s attempt to tarnish Aminu Jaji’s reputation using stooges like Turkur Danfulani and Mal Yusuf Idris Gusau will not succeed.
Regarding the allegations of Jaji working to join the SDP, it is merely a political bombshell. Zamfara people are aware of Matawalle’s plan to lease part of his heart to join the SDP, in collaboration with Mal. Nasir El-Rufai.
Matawalle is negotiating to buy the entire structure of the SDP in Zamfara State to contest under it, thinking he will benefit from another political hurricane that will defeat the APC in 2027.
It is significant for Matawalle to face his political humiliation as the worst governor ever produced in Zamfara State. Even now, as Minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, his attitude towards public office is demeaning, as he turns his office into a photo studio.
As for Mansur Khalifa Kaura, his political journey and profile will speak for him, far surpassing Matawalle’s. Yusuf Idris’s experience as a reporter at a local state-owned newspaper outlet in Gusau, “The Legacy,” is insignificant.
Time is a judge.
Signed,
Hon. Bashir Ahmed Gusau
Organising Secretary,
All Progressives Congress, APC
Zamfara State
March 25, 2025
