The All Progressives Congress (APC) Northern Elites Development Group has accused a two-term member of the House of Representatives from Zamfara State of masterminding a youth protest against the Minister of State Defence, Bello Mohammed Matawalle.
News About Nigeria reports that the protest took place at the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) Headquarters in Abuja on Friday.
The group alleged that the lawmaker, who was not named, conspired with the People’s Democratic Party (PDP)-led government in Zamfara State to orchestrate the protest, which they described as “unnecessary, foolishness, sabotage, and political intolerance” aimed at creating enmity and disunity within the APC.
The group’s spokesman, Alhaji Hashimu Ado Danmalam, stated that the protest was sponsored by those unhappy with Matawalle’s performance and defence of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s interests in the region.
He claimed that the lawmaker still harbours a grudge against the Presidency for not supporting his candidature for the speakership, which he was advised to withdraw from in favour of the President’s endorsed candidate.
Danmalam accused the lawmaker of canvassing support and conniving with senior officials of the Zamfara State government under PDP to hire unsuspecting students and jobless youths to participate in the protest.
He noted that the majority of the protesting youths had never travelled to Zamfara and did not understand the political intrigues of the state or the motives of their sponsors.
The group called on the APC leadership under Abdullahi Umar Ganduje to launch an investigation into the issue and call the lawmaker to order in the interest of the party’s unity ahead of the 2027 elections.
They also urged the EFCC to investigate the matter but cautioned against being swayed by the protesters’ antics, which they described as a bid to score cheap political points.
The statement added: “We, therefore, urge the National Chairman of the APC, Abdullahi Ganduje to order immediate investigations into this development while we support the EFCC investigations against any suspecting political office holders.
“However, we wish to caution the EFCC against going emotional by leveraging such jokers parading themselves and their co-travellers to love Nigeria more than others in their bids to score cheap political goal.”
Recall that protesters wFriday stormed the headquarters of the EFCC in Abuja, asking the commission to reopen the investigations of Matawalle.
The protest was led by Musa Mahmud, the chairman of a group known as APC Akida Forum.
He presented a copy of their petition to the EFCC, asking the anti-graft agency to reopen the investigation into the corruption allegations against Matawalle over alleged mismanagement of public funds and “his involvement in the famous arms deal scandal” during his tenure as the Zamfara State Governor.
In response, the EFCC Director of Public Affairs, Wilson Uwujaren, who received the protest letter on behalf of the Chairman, Ola Olukoyede, assured the protesters that the commission would pursue corruption cases to a logical conclusion.
