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The Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) in Zamfara state has issued a strong rejoinder to an article by the Senior Special Assistant on Media to the Secretary to the Zamfara State Government, Suleman Ahmad Tudu, describing the article as misleading, poorly researched and deliberate propaganda against Senator Kabir Garba Marafa.
The rejoinder, signed by the State Publicity Secretary of the NDC, Abdulkasim Almustapha Kayatawa, was in response to Tudu’s article titled “The candidate campaigning with a resignation letter.
The NDC said it would ordinarily not dignify the article with a response, but was compelled to set the record straight.
Kayatawa accused Tudu of deliberately distorting Senator Marafa’s position during a DCL Hausa interview.
He clarified that Marafa did not campaign with a resignation letter, but made a statement of accountability and honest leadership.
“What Senator Marafa clearly stated was that he understands the responsibilities of the state government and the federal government.
“He made it abundantly clear that as Governor, he will do his own part as the state government for all to see, and he will push the federal government to do its own part,” the NDC spokesman said.
“And it is only if there is no result after he has done his own part and pushed the federal government to do its own that he said he would resign. That is the language of a leader with integrity.”
He said if Tudu found the statement laughable, it was because he was used to leaders who promise heaven and earth but deliver sorrow.
The NDC said the real issue was the failure of Governor Dauda Lawal to fulfill his 2023 campaign promise to end insecurity.
“During his 2023 campaign, Governor Dauda Lawal promised the good people of Zamfara State that he would end insecurity in the state… He was elected. And what happened? The people of Zamfara State were killed again and again, without sympathy, without condolences, without genuine action,” the statement read.
The party argued that whatever achievement the government claims without protecting lives is completely and irredeemably a failure.
“What is the point of clearing salary arrears when people are being killed daily? What is the point of recruiting teachers when schoolchildren cannot go to school because they are afraid of being kidnapped? Nothing is moving without security. Nothing,” it said.
The party accused Governor Lawal of lacking empathy, alleging that while communities were being attacked, the governor was attending political events outside the state.
The NDC cited the recent killing of seven people in Kaura Namoda Local Government, alleging the governor chose to attend the APC presidential campaign flag-off in Kaduna instead of consoling victims.
“His people were killed, yet he joined the federal government delegation to Ethiopia and abandoned his people in their time of grief… Up till now, he has not said anything about the killings in Kaura Namoda. No condolence message. No visit. No statement,” Kayatawa alleged.
The NDC also accused the governor of hypocrisy, noting that before joining the ruling APC at the federal level, he consistently criticized the Federal Government over insecurity.
“Now, Governor Dauda Lawal has joined the APC-led federal government, but we ask: What has Zamfara state achieved by joining the federal government? Has banditry stopped? The benefit is only for Governor Dauda Lawal,” the party said.
The party defended Senator Marafa as a leader with a proven record, saying during his time in the Senate he consistently raised the issue of Zamfara insecurity on the floor of the Red Chamber.
It said Marafa had sponsored many indigent students to study at home and abroad and facilitated federal appointments for Zamfara indigenes.
“A leader with proven record is not a gamble, he is a guarantee. Senator Marafa is not coming to learn on the job,” Kayatawa said.
The NDC concluded that if anyone should resign, it should be Governor Lawal for failing on the issue that matters most security.
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