A former governorship candidate in Zamfara State, Dr. Sani Abdullahi Shinkafi, has called on President Bola Tinubu and the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda, to caution the Minister of State for Defence, Bello Matawalle, over what he described as divisive politics threatening the unity of the party in the state.
In a statement issued on Friday, Shinkafi warned that the APC risked another electoral defeat in the 2027 governorship election if Matawalle continued his alleged divide-and-rule tactics, which he claimed had forced several prominent politicians to leave the party.
The APC chieftain accused Matawalle of turning his ministerial office into a campaign hub, where he allegedly receives defectors from rival camps within the party.
According to Shinkafi, instead of working to unite and strengthen the APC in Zamfara, the Minister had been using his influence to undermine other party leaders in an attempt to take full control of party structures.
He said, “It is worrisome that Matawalle, who ought to use his position as former governor and current Minister of State for Defence to unite, stabilize, and strengthen APC in Zamfara State, is the person causing disaffection among party members ahead of the 2027 general election. He has failed to learn from his politics of bitterness and vendetta that factionalized the party and led to his defeat as a sitting governor by the Peoples Democratic Party’s Dauda Lawal.”
Shinkafi further accused the Minister of pursuing personal political ambitions at the expense of national interest, adding that Matawalle’s office should be focused on tackling insecurity rather than partisan politics.
He said the Minister had been at odds with several APC leaders, including Hon. Aminu Sani Jaji, Senator Kabiru Marafa, former governors Abdul’aziz Abubakar Yari, Ahmad Sani Yerima, Mahmuda Aliyu Shinkafi, Hon. Abdulmalik Zubairu Zanna, and Mukhtar Shehu Idris.
The former governorship candidate also disclosed that he narrowly escaped an assassination attempt in August 2025, which he claimed was politically motivated.
“It is ignoble for a Minister of the Federal Republic to turn his office into a personal campaign ground where he receives inter-party and intra-party defectors. The war against terrorism, insurgency, armed banditry, and kidnapping should be his focus,” he said.
Shinkafi, therefore, appealed to President Tinubu and the APC National Chairman to urgently intervene and call Matawalle to order before his actions further destabilize the party in Zamfara State.
