Matawalle said his opposition to the CBN's naira policy precipitated his political death knell.
The Governor of Zamfara State, Bello Matawalle, has claimed that the introduction of the redesigned naira notes by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) was responsible for his defeat in the March 18, 2023, governorship poll.
Recall that Matawalle alongside his colleagues in Kaduna and Kogi States, Governors Nasiru El-Rufai and Yahaya Bello respectively, dragged the Federal Government to the Supreme Court to ask for the suspension of the CBN deadline that rendered the old naira notes invalid.
The apex court on March 3, 2023, ruled in favour of the governors and ordered the CBN via the Federal Government to extend the validity of the old N200, N500, and N1,000 notes till December 31.
However, The Zamfara State governor said he was targeted for his role in the naira saga and that cost him his re-election bid.
He said his state was heavily militarised during the elections, adding that Zamfara saw more military personnel deployed for the election than when the state government requested military assistance to route out insurgents.
Matawalle said these in an interview with DW Hausa on Thursday, March 30, 2023.
The governor said: “What’s being said is that we went to the court over new naira notes redesign. They said myself, Ganduje, and El Rufai would be punished accordingly.
“We have had security challenges in Zamfara state, and we’ve been asking them to send soldiers to us, but they didn’t.
“But three days to the (governorship) election, they sent over 300 vehicles conveying soldiers into Zamfara.
“Such a high number of soldiers. If they could send them to us to fight insecurity, it would be better. But they only sent them during elections.”
Speaking further, Matawalle accused the President Muhammadu Buhari government of intimidating the Zamfara electorate into voting for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Dauda Lawal Dare.
The governor explained that “They were over 50 soldiers in our polling unit in Zamfara. They were even straight about it that those voting for APC would not be allowed to vote.
“When I saw that (the heavy deployment of soldiers), I knew they were up to something. That was why it didn’t bother me because I received an intelligence report on what they were going to do against me. Not only myself but other governors that did something that is considered wrong.
“People were harassed and beaten because they wanted to vote for APC. We all have this evidence on video. When we called soldiers to come to our aid, they didn’t come. But I have left everything to God.”
However, he said the victory of the President-elect, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, was enough consolation for his loss at the poll.
“Correct, we delivered Zamfara State to the APC during the presidential election. But we lost the governorship.
“Nevertheless, we are happy about his emergence. If he didn’t win it would have been more painful for us. But I am not worried at all,” he concluded.
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