Missing N70bn: Ex-Zamfara govt official calls for Gov Lawal’s impeachment

Former government officials in Zamfara State are seeking the removal of Governor Dauda Lawal over allegations of corruption and have clarified the controversy surrounding the missing N70 billion.

They argue that Governor Lawal has falsely accused Bello Matawalle, the former governor, of diverting the funds to deflect attention from his misconduct.

Earlier this year, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) investigated Matawalle for alleged fund diversion involving contractors and proxies who received payments for never-completed projects.

The former cabinet members, including Rabiu Garba, former commissioner of finance and economic planning, and Ibrahim Dosara, ex-commissioner of information, have refuted these allegations, claiming they stem from malicious intent and a smear campaign orchestrated by the current administration in Zamfara.

They accuse Governor Lawal of engaging in unauthorized extra-budgetary spending without the approval of the state assembly.

In response, they are calling for Lawal's impeachment and urging the state assembly to scrutinize his governance practices.

Garba said: “We are calling on the state house of assembly to impeach the governor for spending outside the budget of the state.

“He awarded contract that is not in the budget. A budget primarily is a source document where works and services of government are going to be rendered. A budget is an act of the state assembly which the governor violated.

"There was no virement to support the contracts that were awarded. There was no evidence that the virement had been received by the State House of Assembly and even, if there is, the state assembly had not attended to that issue...”

Ibrahim Dosara has pointed out that the EFCC suspended its investigations into Matawalle after discovering his innocence.

He said: “We left the state better than it is today. The state is exposed to bandits and as things are now, the state capital, Guasau, is not spared." According to Rabiu Garba, the allegations of missing funds are merely Governor Lawal's desperate efforts to incriminate Matawalle.