By Abiola Olawale
Governor of Zamfara State, Bello Matawalle, has berated the order of the Federal Government which declared the state a no-fly zone and also placed a ban on mining of gold and other percious metals, due to the activities of terrorists and bandits in the state.
Maj. Gen. Babagana Monguno (rtd), National Security Adviser (NSA), had announced President Muhammadu Buhari’s order, banning mining activities in Zamfara in a bid to restore peace to the affected areas of the state.
Reacting, Matawalle, said the decision will not put an end to banditry and other security challenges in the northwest state.
The Governor said this during the visit of the delegation of the Nigerian Governors Forum (NGF), led by Governor of Ekiti State, Kayode Fayemi.
According to him, the federal government does not understands the situation in Zamfara.
In his words, “It seems the security council doesn’t understand the nature of the security problems in Zamfara State but if they decided to take such action, let them go ahead. I’m not afraid of any body and the problem of insecurity in the state predates my administration. Nigerians are waiting to see the outcome of the security council resolution to see if these bandits would be crushed. If the federal government fails to crush them after this resolution, then Nigerians will understand that they only sat and serve themselves tea, nothing more.”
However, speaking on the effort he is making on ending the insecurity situations in the state, Matawalle vowed to arrest any politician who wants to disturb the peace of the state.
The governor once again maintained that many prominent individuals are the ones orchestrating kidnapping in the state, through their support to the bandits.
In his words, “These power drunk politicians cannot stay in Abuja, Kaduna or anywhere in Nigeria and be instigating crisis and be sponsoring terrorism in the state, killing thousands of innocent citizens of the state for selfish interest.”
