Zamfara Gov Accused Of Weaponising Fake News Against Tinubu’s Govt



The Zamfara State Governor, Dauda Lawal has reportedly escalated moves to undermine President Bola Tinubu’s administration after allegedly  failing to get a nod to defect from his People’s Democratic Party (PDP) to the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC). 

Sources familiar with actions taken by the governor’s camp cited a report by an online platform, titled “EXCLUSIVE: How Tinubu’s Defence Minister Matawalle Maintains Contact With Bandit Leaders, Ordered Them To Compel Communities To Vote For APC — Former Aide” as the start of a disinformation campaign to target President Tinubu through his appointees. 

One of the sources, who craved anonymity because of the fear of reprisal, revealed that the Zamfara state governor has given a marching order for his associates to “Unleash calculated spread of misinformation to deflect attention from his own dealings while sowing discord within the government at the center.” 

He further revealed that “The story on Matawalle, for instance, is only the first among things that would come out soon. You can see how it relied on someone they kept referring to as the Minister’s former aide. It was a deliberate tactic to discredit Tinubu’s allies, especially by floating and fueling stories that implicate key figures in the security challenges in the North West.”  

Another source revealed that Sani Abdullahi Shinkafi, who previously served as Honorary Special Adviser on Inter-Governmental Affairs to former Zamfara State Governor and current Minister of State for Defence, Bello Matawalle, was the person behind the story attempting to implicate the minister in banditry. 

He said, “Sani Abdullahi Shinkafi is the person they used in that story. Interestingly, some of us had warned that it could backfire because the same Shinkafi was even arrested in the past with terrorist links and he is presently a very close ally of the Governor. So, by the same token His Excellency Dauda Lawal must also be accused of being in bed with bandits.” 

“Shinkafi had calculated that he could increase his political estate when the governor defects to the APC have been upset that this would not happen so long as Matawalle continues to deliver as Minister of State for Defence. So, he is leveraging his past as Matawalle’s ex-aide to be feeding Dauda Lawal and Sahara Reporters with false reports,” the source explained.

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