– The deputy governor of Zamfara state, Malam Ibrahim Wakkala, says his governor, Abdul’Aziz Yari, has denied him his rights and privileges
– Wakkala says for months, several of the legal funding that are supposed to be made to his office have been stopped
– The deputy governor calls on those concerned and responsible for the interpretation and implementation of the constitutional provisions to explain why he is allegedly being treated this way
The deputy governor of Zamfara state, Malam Ibrahim Wakkala, says his governor, Abdul’Aziz Yari, has sidelined him.
Wakkala told newsmen in Gusau on Sunday, December 30, that the governor had denied him his rights and privileges, The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports.
“For months now,several of the legal funding that are supposed to be made to my office have been stopped and I have been completely sidelined by the state government.
”This attitude against me started since I indicated interest to run for the governorship of the state on the platform of our party, the All Progressives Congress (APC).
“I know that nothing stops me as a citizen from contesting for any elective position, so I want those concerned and responsible for the interpretation and implementation of the constitutional provisions that accorded me rights and privileges to explain to me why I am being treated this way.
“If my crime is my declaration, then what about my supporting staff made up of casual staff, feeding of security personnel, fueling and services of vehicles attached to my office, what have they done to have their allowances stopped,“he said.
The deputy governor also said that it had still not been officially communicated to him that the speaker of the state House of Assembly, Alhaji Sanusi Rikiji, would be serving as acting governor of the state.
“I knew this on the pages of newspapers, the social media and when the state Commissioner of Information told a journalist that I am treated this way because I belong to the G8 group.
“My concern at the moment, however, is to see that Zamfara is free from all these security challenges where the killings, kidnappings and animal rustling have taken charge.”
Clarifying further on the matter, the deputy governor’s director-general on media, Malam Yusuf Idris, said, “the deputy governor is always in his office and nothing is related to him concerning official matters.”
Yusuf maintained that: “The only reason someone else aside from the deputy governor that can act in the governor’s absence is when he (the deputy governor)is impeached, removed from office by court order or death and none of these is the case at the moment,” he said.
When contacted however, Governor Yari told journalists that his main concern in the state now is how to tackle the security situation and see how people in the state could live without any threat to their lives, businesses or property.
“We can only discuss this issue when we begin to talk politics,” he said.
In a similar report, Ibrahim Wakkala Muhammad, said he is being financially deprivedby the state government since he declared his intention to contest for the governorship position of the state.
Daily Trust reports that Muhammad disclosed that he is not of the belief that the government is doing the right thing and because of that he is being persecuted politically.
He charged the people of the state to continue praying for lasting peace saying it is the end that matters not the beginning.
