Zamfara Govt, Matawalle Differ Over N4.5bn Embezzlement

Zamfara State Governor Dauda Lawal has revealed that the immediate past administration of Bello Matawalle embezzled over N6.7 billion from the abandoned Zamfara Cargo Airport project.

In a statement yesterday issued in Gusau, the state capital,  the spokesperson to the governor, Sulaiman Bala Idris, disclosed that the government was shocked to discover that the Matawalle’s administration substantial mismanagement of the abandoned Zamfara Cargo Airport project.

He added that Governor Lawal’s administration will bring those responsible for financial recklessness to justice.

By in a swift reaction, the All Progressives Congress (APC) spokesperson and an associate of Matawalle, Yusuf Idris, dismissed the allegations, saying it was baseless and unfounded.

He said the cargo airport project was an inherited project by Matawalle’s administration.

Idris said instead of the governor to concentrate on governance and face the issue of banditry, he has instead embarked on blame game and unnecessary accusations.

The statement reads in part:  “The administration of former Governor Bello Mohammed Matawalle made a total payment of N6,775,949,561.50 on the abandoned project whose completion level was less than 20%.

“Furthermore, evaluations carried out by four different independent firms of experts and relevant agencies of government have shown that the total value of work done is N2,249,636,040.73, representing 19.47% overall.

“It is our finding that the payments made to the contractors were not only incommensurate with the level of work executed but grossly incomparable with work done.

“The committee concluded that the contractors were no longer interested in executing and completing the project, taking into cognisance the fraudulent ways the project has been carried out, because the project’s life span had elapsed, and the contractor did neither attempt nor show any intention to apply for an extension of time to continue with the work.”

It said after all the evaluations carried out by the four reputable consultants, the contractors are supposed to refund the Zamfara State government over N4,526,313,520.77.

It added that as a responsible government, it will continue to pursue all cases of mismanagement and ensure that what rightfully belongs to Zamfara is returned for the benefit of its people, and anyone involved in the mismanagement is brought to book.