Anti-Matawalle protests sponsored by Zamfara Govt – APC group

The All Progressives Congress, APC Integrity Community has urged President Bola Tinubu, the Nationwide Working Committee of the APC, and safety businesses to research what it described as a coordinated marketing campaign to carry down distinguished members of the get together by means of state-sponsored blackmail.

The stress group throughout the ruling get together alleged that the Zamfara State Authorities was sponsoring protests towards the Minister of State for Defence, Bello Matawalle, as a part of a broader plot to sabotage the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

In a press release issued on Friday in Abuja, Bamidele Ibrahim Ayoola, President of the APC Integrity Community, described the protest staged by the so-called APC Younger Leaders Alliance as a “cash-for-mob stunt” orchestrated by political hirelings loyal to the present Zamfara administration, geared toward distracting Matawalle from his ongoing service to Nigeria’s defence and safety structure.

Ayoola alleged that the protesters had been “mobilised with peanuts” and that a lot of them had no data of who Matawalle was or the content material of the petition they supposedly supported.

“It’s shameful and harmful for any group to hire a crowd to smear a sitting minister at a time when nationwide unity and safety ought to be our focus. We have now credible proof that these protesters had been sponsored with state funds from Zamfara, with every participant receiving between N10,000 and N20,000 to hold placards they’ll’t even learn,” Ayoola mentioned.

In line with the APC Integrity Community, a number of eyewitnesses on the EFCC headquarters and throughout the Maitama space confirmed seeing two buses, marked with Zamfara State Authorities fleet numbers, dropping off the protesters on the EFCC gates within the early hours of Friday.

“They arrived in chartered autos from Kaduna and Gusau, clearly not grassroots APC members as they claimed. A few of the placards had been even mislabelled, calling the minister ‘Bello Masari’ as an alternative of Matawalle, exposing the hasty nature of the association,” Ayoola added.

The group additionally launched pictures and brief video clips purportedly displaying money being handed out to some protesters after the demonstration, and claimed the funds had been allegedly funnelled by means of a proxy linked to a senior aide within the Zamfara authorities.

Ayoola maintained that the marketing campaign towards Matawalle is a part of a wider agenda to undermine the APC-led federal authorities and sow inside division throughout the get together forward of the 2027 basic elections.

He mentioned the protest was a part of a deliberate marketing campaign to destabilise the Tinubu authorities by attacking its key ministers, particularly these seen as influential in northern politics.

“This isn’t nearly Matawalle. That is about weakening Tinubu’s cupboard from inside and fuelling disunity within the APC. These enemies of progress are hoping to border President Tinubu’s ministers as corrupt or ineffective forward of 2027,” he added.

“This isn’t nearly Matawalle. It’s about distracting our get together’s federal ministers and making a false narrative of selective justice to confuse the general public. That is about weakening Tinubu’s cupboard from inside and fuelling disunity within the APC. These enemies of progress are hoping to border President Tinubu’s ministers as corrupt or ineffective forward of 2027.”

Recall that Matawalle served as governor of Zamfara from 2019 to 2023 and was appointed Minister of State for Defence by President Bola Tinubu as a part of efforts to strengthen the nationwide response to insecurity, particularly within the northern area.

The APC Integrity Community says that since assuming workplace, Matawalle has been “laser-focused” on tackling insecurity in Zamfara and different frontline states, and that “enemies of progress” are alarmed by the goodwill he has continued to draw throughout get together strains.

“It’s unlucky that whereas the minister is deploying his expertise to assist the Nigerian army counter banditry and terrorism, some bitter politicians in his residence state are sponsoring protests to distract him,” the group mentioned.

“The reality is, the defence minister has been laser-focused on enhancing army operations within the North-West. That’s the reason he’s being focused. However the public should not fall for these diversionary techniques. If something, this protest proves that he’s hitting the correct nerves.

“So we problem the EFCC to research the supply of the funds used to sponsor Friday’s protest. Who paid for the transport, meals, lodging, and banners? Nigerians need to know.”

“If anybody has details or proof towards Matawalle, allow them to observe due course of. However this rented crowd technique should cease. The APC should not grow to be a theatre for vendettas,” Ayoola concluded.

The group additionally warned that ought to these “mercenary protests” proceed, they’d be pressured to call and disgrace state actors funding the marketing campaign, and petition related federal businesses for breach of public belief and diversion of funds.

The APC Integrity Community vowed to stay vigilant and proceed defending get together leaders who’re being unfairly focused by what they referred to as “enemies inside and out of doors the get together.”