Zamfara State Governor Bello Mohammed, Matawallen Maradun, has dismissed the allegations against the All Progressives Congress (APC) by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), saying the latter poses no threat to the former in the state.
Dateline Nigeria reports that the PDP, in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary Mr Kola Ologbondiyan, accused the Zamfara APC and particularly the Matawalle administration of attempting to frustrate it ahead of 2023 elections by denying it the opportunity to own an office accommodation in Gusau.
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But Matawalle, in a statement by his media aide Zailani Bappa on Tuesday, said “We find this allegation as spurious and a total disrespect to Dr Bello Mohammed who midwifed, nursed and nurtured the nearly obliterated PDP as a Party in Zamfara State and sailed it to power in 2019.”
“The PDP must be reminded to the fact that it poses no threat to either the APC as a Party in Zamfara State, nor Dr Bello Mohammed himself,” the statement said, adding that but for Matawalle the PDP couldn’t have even managed a second position in the 2019 elections.
“Though we quite sympathise with the PDP since the exit of His Excellency, Dr Bello Mohammed, but his exit from the Party or its attendant problems in the State are no ground to make wild allegations as lowly as accusing the Governor of threatening their prospective Landlord.
“It is important that the PDP sorts out its tenancy problems without dragging the name of Zamfara State Government into it just to attract public sympathy.
“If indeed, the PDP believes its allegations are true and it is preparing to go to Court, then its media allegation against the Government is a needless distraction and a mischievous attempt to smear the name of the Governor and his administration.
“It must be put on record that the total support enjoyed by the APC in Zamfara state is not in doubt which was proven in 2011 when it routed the then PDP administration out of office. Today, the APC is even more rooted in the hearts of Zamfara electorates with the entry of Dr Bello Mohamned into its fold.
“It is instructive, therefore, that Dr Bello Mohammed cannot descend so low as to smash an ant with a sledge hammer or even flog an already dead horse. The PDP must also be cautioned to weigh its allegations next time as the state Government may be forced to take lawful and appropriate actions against such carelessness,” the statement said.
