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 his “divisive brand of politics” in the state.
In a statement released on Friday, Shinkafi warned that the APC risked another electoral defeat in Zamfara in 2027 if Matawalle failed to end his alleged “divide-and-rule tactics” that had forced several prominent politicians to leave the party.
According to the APC chieftain, who was a member of the Tinubu-Shettima Presidential Campaign Council in 2023, Matawalle has allegedly converted his ministerial office into a governorship campaign base, using it to host defectors and consolidate control over party structures in the state.
“It is worrisome that Matawalle, who ought to use his position as a former governor and current Minister of State for Defence to unite, stabilize, and strengthen the APC in Zamfara, is instead the one causing disaffection among party members ahead of the 2027 general election,” Shinkafi said.
“He has failed to learn from the politics of bitterness and vendetta that factionalized the party and led to his defeat as a sitting governor by the PDP’s Dauda Lawal.”
