Northern Group Blasts Gov Matawalle Over Attack on Emefiele, Urges Tinubu to Ignore Him

Northern Group Blasts Gov Matawalle Over Attack on Emefiele, Urges Tinubu to Ignore Him

By THECONSCIENCEng 

The Arewa Youth Assembly has raised an alarm over the call by Governor of Zamfara State, Bello Matawalle, for President Muhammadu Buhari not to approve any study leave for the CBN Governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele and cautioned President Elect Bola Ahmed Tinubu from acting against Mr. Emefiele.

In a press statement signed by the Publicity Secretary of the Arewa Youth Assembly, Alhaji Aliyu Sani, the group expressed its displeasure at Governor Matawalle for “believing and acting on a baseless rumour.” The statement by the group noted that a spokesperson in the Office of the President, Mallam Garba Shehu, denied the existence of the imaginary study leave.

The group remarked that instead of the Governor to be afraid of his fate when he leaves office, he is more concerned about the destiny of Mr. Emefiele who is serving Nigerians diligently.

The group challenged Matawalle to make public the number of persons kidnapped in Zamfara State when the Naira was not in excessive circulation and the number kidnapped after the reintroduction of the Naira.

The group accused Matawalle of failing to guarantee the right to life for citizens of the state as provided for in the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria (as amended) in Section 33.

“Your failure to provide security in the state has halted educational activities, with the closure of schools. At least 75 secondary schools in the state are still shut because of security, tagging the state as an educationally backward state. Zamfara state has a total of 61.4% of children out of school, with boys at 57.4% and girls at 66%.”

The group said in contrast to the glaring failure of Matawalle, Emefiele was busy working hard to boost the economy by impacting all sectors through programmes like Anchor Borrowers’ Programme, Commercial Agriculture Credit Scheme, intervention programmes and schemes for MSMEs and manufacturers as well as exporting activities.

“This has helped in increasing revenue generation outside crude oil, thus helping this administration to actualize its diversification agenda, creation of employment, alleviating poverty, and recreating Nigeria’s image before the world,” the statement said.

The youths also noted that the, “Only person seeking to damage the good work President Buhari has done is you, that’s why your people voted for APC in the presidential election but never hesitated to vote you out, because you have failed them. This justifies why you were never voted in the first place.”

The Arewa youths said “while you were busy spending Zamfara people’s money on irrelevant things, Emefiele was busy on Naira redesign, a policy that had the power to stop insecurity, curtailed corruption, and drop the prices of commodity immediately. Conversely, the problems came back in full immediately after cash started flowing, people were no longer safe, and bandits hit Zamfara, Kaduna, Minna, and other parts of the country.”

The statement said, “For this alone, Emefiele should be given a gold medal and celebrated, for he helped President Buhari abide by the constitution that states the security and lives of citizens are paramount.

“All that Emefiele has done are with the blessings of the commander in chief, his activities have been completely transparent and accountable, the records are there, the world is digital, every naira, every kobo is accounted for how it comes in and how it is spent.

“For the record, even if there were requests for study leave, it is legal. The Public Service Rules make ample provision for the training and development of Civil Servants, to enhance the officer’s performance.”

The statement added that, “Study leaves are approved to allow an employee to complete an accredited course of study provided by an overseas educational institution. Study leaves are legal and have been granted before in Nigeria and even in superpower countries of the world. An individual has the right to seek study leave in any part of the world.”

The Youth Assembly called on President-Elect Tinubu to note that the North voted for him when the sound of gunshots from bandits went silent as a result of the Naira redesign policy. “Insecurity is the reason why our people rejected the PDP. We saw a workable solution to our number one problem.”

The statement added that, “As a governor, you have failed to guarantee the right to life provided for in the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria (as amended) in Section 33 of the1999 constitution as amended, which clearly states that every person has a right to life and Article 3 of the Universal Declaration on Human Right that states everyone has a right to life, liberty, and security.”

“Your failure to provide security in the state has halted educational activities, with the closure of schools. At least 75 secondary schools in the state are still shut because of security, tagging the state as an educationally backward state. Zamfara state has a total of 61.4% of children out of school, with boys at 57.4% and girls at 66%.

“Zamfara is one of the poorest states in the world and the poorest in Nigeria. A report by the National Social Registry stated that Zamfara has the highest number of poor and vulnerable people in Nigeria, with a record of 3,836,484 people from 825,337 households.

The Arewa youths advised Matawalle to lick his wounds and grief alone, do not drag others into his world of shame, while you were busy spending Zamfara people’s money on irrelevant things, Emefiele was busy on Naira redesign, a policy that had the power to stop insecurity, curtailed corruption, and drop the prices of commodity immediately.

Conversely, the problems came back in full immediately after cash started flowing, people were no longer safe, and Bandits hit Zamfara, Kaduna, Minna, and other parts of the country.

The policy was only rejected by people like you because of selfish interest, because of public wealth you have a mass and were looking for a way to hide it.

It is obvious Governor Matawalle is the one suffering from trauma and shock from the election he lost, instead of grieving in silence alone, he chose to take a last dance of shame by ranting under speculations of the media he has not confirmed to be true or otherwise.

The Youth Assembly also remarked that, “We wish to call on Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu to note that, the North voted for him when the sound of gunshots from bandits went silent as a result of the Naira redesigned Policy introduced by the CBN. Insecurity is the reason why our people rejected the PDP, we saw a workable solution to our number one problem.

If he chose to rally obvious failures like Matawalle around him, we will sadly accept that he has failed before his inauguration and nothing good will be expected from his tenure. The North has many qualified and respectable persons that will fit into the Presidency of Tinubu, Bellow Matawalle is not part of them.”