The APC Youth Leaders Network has distanced themselves from recent protests against Minister of State for Defence, Bello Matawalle.
The protest was staged by individuals who identified themselves as APC youths. The protesters demanded Matawalle’s investigation by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
However, in a statement on Sunday, the APC Youth Leaders Network alleged that the protest against Matawalle was orchestrated by the Zamfara State government.
“Apparently, the recent events on a sponsored protest to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) by a compromised faction that claimed to be APC youths, demanding an investigation of Matawalle should be seen as nothing short of an embarrassing attempt to spread falsehood for vendetta politics.
“Indeed, these trying times call for an urgent need for Nigerians to circumspectly evaluate any spurious allegations flying around. I
“Nevertheless, our commitment to truth, justice, and the preservation of democratic integrity that the APC stands for, remains undeterred. Let it be made clear: Minister Bello Matawalle is a respected patriot whose legacy and contributions to national security, particularly in the North-West, continue to uphold the visionary Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
“Moreover, it’s on record that insecurity in Zamfara has worsened alarmingly under the current government. Daily news of banditry festers, communities being ransacked, lives being lost in thousands, and the cry of protection that was never answered. Evidently, it is not out of place to say that the governor is either grossly incompetent to lead or criminally negligent— or perhaps both,”;; parts of the statement said.
Continuing, the statement added, “Undoubtedly, no sincere observer of today’s Nigerian polity can ignore the coordinated pattern of misinformation emanating from the seat of power in Zamfara State. The so-called protest, ludicrous assertions and malicious claims peddled by a faction of misguided youths under the dubious banner of the All Progressives Congress Young Leaders Alliance (APC-YLA) against Minister Matawalle is a desperate calculated distraction at diverting public attention away from Lawal’s monumental failures in Zamfara State.
“Unfortunately, their baseless vituperations stem from an acute awareness of their own irrelevance in the APC political sphere.”;;
The APC Youth Leaders Network urged the EFCC to investigate Governor Lawal’s financial dealings and conduct a full forensic audit of Zamfara State’s expenditures.
