Despite having a sword of Damocles hanging over his head occasioned by alleged looting of the state’s treasury while in office, the former governor of Zamfara State, Mr. Bello Matawalle, has donated N200 to his supporters for Sallah celebrations.
The Zamfara State chairman of the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC), Mr. Tukur Danfulani, disclosed this in a statement issued in Gusau yesterday.
He said the governor donated N200 million to his supporters in the state for Sallah celebrations.
Danfulani, who is the chairman of the distribution committee, listed the beneficiaries of the windfall to include party members, stakeholders, women, youth groups and organisations in the state.
The other beneficiaries are orphans, the less privileged, Islamic scholars, media practitioners, and social media influencers and handlers.
“The gesture is aimed at assisting people to celebrate the upcoming 2023 Eid-el-Kabir festival with ease.
“The committee had already started the distribution of the money to all the beneficiaries,” he said.
Danfulani expressed appreciation to the former governor for the kindness saying it will cushion the economic hardship among the citizens in the state, especially at the grassroots.
He pledged that all the intended beneficiaries would receive the donation before the Sallah celebration on Wednesday.
Recall that the ex-governor had a running battle with the erstwhile chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mr. Abdulrasheed Bawa over alleged pillaging of the Zamfara State treasury to the tune of N70 billion while the former held sway as governor between 2019 and 2023
“The real issue with Matawalle is that he is being investigated by the EFCC, over allegations of corruption, award of phantom contracts and diversion of over N70 billion,” EFCC said in a statement.
To save his face, Matawalle who lost his second term as governor to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), alleged in an interview with the BBC Hausa Service that Bawa asked him for a $2 million bribe, an allegation the EFCC dismissed as untrue.
