The Zamfara State Governor, Bello Mohammed Matawalle has reacted swiftly to an alleged report credited to TOS Tv Network by Sahelian Times, where he was quoted to have said he ‘joined the APC so as to stop the killing of innocent citizens in the state.’
In a press statement signed by Hon Yusuf Idris Gusau, his Director General, Press Affairs, he said the state government particularly ‘takes exception to such callous and high level of mischief’ and wishes to categorically deny that such pronouncements were never made by the governor.
“It is completely the handiwork of those diversionary characters who have remained vehemently opposed to the defection to APC by governor Matawalle,” the statement said.
“These mischievous individuals and groups found a softer ground in the unprofessional journalists and sponsored them to carry such a fabricated report in order to embarrass the governor even as it is too late for them since the governor is now not only a full fledged member of the party but its leader in the state on whose table everything stops.”
The statement further noted that for the sake of clarification, the TOS Tv reporters had actually sought an audience with Matawalle who also, as usual, granted them the request for the interview, however insisting that at no point did the governor make such an unpleasant and insensitive statement.
“It is a known fact that governor Matawalle is one of the leaders in the country that speaks wisdom on all matters and he joined the APC in order to strengthen political unity in the state for the purpose of bringing more development to his people, considering the upper hands he has been enjoying from President Muhammadu Buhari and the APC high command on all matters concerning the state.
“We call on the media that mischievously quoted the governor to immediately retract their reports and make a public apology”
“Members of the general public should therefore disregard the unprofessional reporter that was sponsored to tarnish the image of Governor Bello Mohammed Matawalle and his party the APC,” the statement added.
