Bello Matawalle says he is ready to resign as governor of Zamfara if that will bring peace to the state.
Matawalle who was a guest on Channels Television’s Politics Today stated this when asked if he is intimidated by the Federal Government’s declaration of a ‘No-Fly Zone’ in Zamfara.
He said: “I am ready to accept any solution that will bring security to my state.
“I am not intimidated. If I know that my resigning as a governor will make the people sleep with their two eyes closed, I can resign. I am ready to do what will bring security. I am not power-hungry. I have been having a sleepless night to protect the people of Zamfara State.”
The National Security Adviser, Major General Babagana Monguno, had on Tuesday said President Buhari approved the declaration “No-Fly Zone” in Zamfara, as part of efforts to tackle the security challenges in the state.
Matawalle noted that while he has no grievance regarding the order, he was however disappointed that the National Security Council did not consult him before making the declaration.
The governor also stated that the ‘No-Fly Zone’ order is not the same as declaring a state of emergency.
He argued that the flight ban was supposed to have been extended to some other states seeing that the security challenges faced in Zamfara were also affecting many states in the northern part of the country.
Meanwhile, Matawalle also said that no ransom was paid to secure the release of the over 300 abducted students of the Government Secondary School in the Jangebe area of the state.
He stated this on Wednesday during an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today.
“There is nothing in exchange for the release; we use those (bandits) that are repented. When we use them, they engage them and I said they should ask them why they did that?” he asked.
“Some of these guys did not accept our peace accord, they are many. Some of them even refused to show their faces to the government. But those that have a good intention of repenting and coming back to society, they are working with the security agencies to make sure that the state is safe.”
