A pro-democracy group, the Zamfara Initiative for Good Governance, has accused Governor Dauda Lawal of Zamfara State of failing to fulfill his election promises to the people.
The group asserts that the governor has not delivered on his commitments in crucial areas such as security, health, agriculture, education, civil service, and women and youth empowerment.
The group claims that Governor Lawal is overwhelmed by the demands of leadership and is adopting a trial-and-error approach to governance. They recall that Lawal had promised to provide security in the state within his first 100 days in office. However, one year later, Zamfara remains under siege by armed bandits who terrorize the state’s 14 local government areas.
“Governor Lawal goes on frequent foreign trips in search of elusive investors fully aware that the state is not safe for commercial activities, let alone attracting foreign investors, thus wasting taxpayers’ money,” a statement signed by Hon. Lawal Usman Mohammed, the group’s chairman, said.
The group highlights the severity of the security situation, noting, “Today, the number of people kidnapped, killed, and displaced from their ancestral homes in one year surpasses those affected in the past 12 years of banditry in Zamfara State. More than 1.6 million people are internally displaced out of a population of 6 million citizens.”
The statement criticizes the governor’s handling of the fight against banditry, stating, “The fight against banditry is carried out with a kid’s glove as the governor could not fund and equip the Community Protection Guards he inaugurated a few months ago, rendering them redundant, just as adequate logistics is not provided to security agencies in the state to crush these criminal elements in synergy with the Federal Government.”
The group further laments, “Sadly, Zamfara State has become the headquarters of bandits resulting in hunger and poverty, as the people cannot access their farmlands and carry out commercial activities.”
Emphasizing the constitutional duty of the government, the statement reads, “This negates Section 14(2)b of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999, as amended, which provides that the security and welfare of the people shall be the primary purpose of government.”
The group urges Governor Lawal to take governance seriously, stating, “We urge Governor Lawal to sit up and take governance seriously as he is not only accountable to the people, he is also accountable to God. The reign of terror in the state must stop. The good people of Zamfara State desire and deserve a new lease of life, security, prosperity, and development.”
Addressing recent claims by the governor, the group remarks, “The governor recently advertised his ‘legacy projects’ in which he invited dignitaries to commission, including the Peoples Democratic Party National Chairman, Umar Damagum, General Aliyu Gusau, and former Governors Ahmed Yarima Bakura and Mahmood Aliyu Shinkafi.”
The group criticizes these projects, saying, “The truth is that they are not new projects, mere whitewash, renovated, reconstructed, and remodeled roads, hospitals, and schools which were constructed and commissioned by previous administrations. They did not warrant such elaborate ceremonies and waste of public funds commissioning them as if they were entirely new projects.”
The statement adds, “The Almajiri schools which the governor commissioned were fully funded by the Federal Government’s Almajiri Schools Scheme at Gumi, Gusau, and Kaura Namoda.”
Finally, the group points out that federal funds were used for many of the projects the governor claimed as his achievements, noting, “It is important to note that all the projects Governor Dauda Lawal claimed that he executed in his one year in office, particularly the renovation of primary and secondary schools under Zamfara State Education Board, were funded by the Federal Government’s Better Education Service Delivery for All (BESDA).”
