53 Vehicles Recovered From Governor Bello Matawalle Were From His Auto Business Warehouse
OpenLife Nigeria reports that the over 40 vehicles recovered from the home of the immediate past governor of Zamfara State, Bello Matawalle, are said to be stocks from his warehouse.
Only recently, the new Zamfara government said it had recovered over 40 official vehicles from Bello Matawalle.
According to a statement issued by Suleiman Idris, the governor’s spokesperson, the vehicles were recovered after a raid of Matawalle’s residences in Gusau and Maradun Local Government Area, — his hometown.
The spokesman said before the raid, the state government had asked Matawalle and his deputy to return all government assets in their care within five working days.
The governor’s spokesperson said their non-adherence to the directive made the police seek a search warrant to raid the properties on Friday, June 9.
But on Monday, in an early morning programme on Arise TV,
The immediate past Zamfara State Commissioner of Information, Ibrahim Magaji Dosara, said the recovered vehicles were not taken from government House. He stated that his boss, former governor Bello Matawalle has been in auto business even before he became Zamfara governor. He insisted that his boss is a known auto dealer in Nigeria, United States of America and other countries. He added that it is not unusual to see large pool of cars in his home, some of which are stocks from his auto ware house.
“What is happening is political intricacies and vendetta arising from the election. Governor Matawalle provided severance allowance to people that worked with him. We served the state for four years. We are entitled to certain benefits. It is unfortunate. Governor Matawalle did not take away vehicles.
There was no notice, no notification. Police just came. 53 vehicles were removed. Matawalle has been a car dealer even in the United States of America. Most of the vehicles belong to matawalle. Some of the cars were donated to him during the campaigns,” Ibrahim Magaji Dosara defended.
Earlier, the State government under governor Dauda Lawal, accused his predecessor, Bello Muhammad Matawalle, of stealing 17 government vehicles and looted items from the state government residence, including televisions and cookers. He added that Bello Matawalle spent over N2 billion on vehicles and when he resumed, there was empty treasury and no vehicle was available.
“We have the facts and records available that expose Matawalle’s impropriety. A contract was awarded by the former governor, for the purchase of vehicles to be distributed to dignitaries and Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) at the cost of N1,149,800,000. The contract for the purchase of the vehicles was awarded to Hafkhad Properties and Facilities Management Nig. Ltd.”
“The money was meant for the purchase of a Toyota Lexus VIP Bullet Proof 2021 Model; Toyota Land Cruiser VIP Bullet Proof 2021 Model; Toyota Prado V6 2021 Model; Toyota Prado V4 2021 Model; Peugeot 2021 Model; Toyota Hilux 2021 Model; Toyota Land Cruiser Bullet Proof 2021; and Toyota Lexus 2021 Model.”
In a response during the interactive session on Aris TV, the former commissioner said the vehicles were given to security agencies in a colourful ceremony in Gusau.
Matawalle inherited huge debt from former governor Abdulazeez Yari . So, what he was getting was used to service debts and they were being deducted at source. Matawalle was even borrowing money to make up salary payments,” he defended.
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