Despite repeated denials that he was not planning to join the All Progressives Congress (APC), the Governor of Zamfara State, Bello Matawalle, has now joined Nigeria’s ruling party, an aide to President Muhammadu Buhari has suggested.

In a cryptic post shared on his verified Facebook
account on Sunday morning, the president’s
Personal Assistant on Digital and New Media, Bashir
Ahmad, suggested that Mr Matawalle has left the
Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the APC.
“So Zamfara is back home! Welcome Matawalle✊,”
Mr Ahmad wrote.

Mr Matawalle was elected on the platform of the
PDP after the Supreme Court nullified the victory of
the APC in the 2019 elections in the state due to an
internal party crisis. Before then, Zamfara was an
APC state with the governor and majority of the
federal and state lawmakers from the ruling party.

Prior to Mr Ahmad’s announcement, PREMIUM
TIMES reported the dissolution of the Zamfara State
Executive Council by the governor, a move a source
close to the governor confirmed was in preparation
to join the APC on June 12.



The source said Mr Matawalle dissolved his cabinet
due to the reluctance of some members to defect
with him to the ruling party. After that report, Mr
Matawalle denied plans to join the APC.

The governor said that he sacked his cabinet
members in a bid to reinvigorate his government for
the second half of his tenure. He said he has not
decided on defecting nor fixed a date for such.

On Sunday, state officials close to Mr Matawalle
confirmed again to PREMIUM TIMES that the
governor was set to join the APC. Some of them said
they had already been told to start ditching the PDP
flag in preparation for the official defection.

However, Mr Matawalle’s spokesperson, Yusuf Idris,
told PREMIUM TIMES early Sunday morning that Mr
Ahmad’s post should be ignored. The governor has
not decamped, the spokesperson told this
newspaper, declining to speak on whether or not
there were plans to decamp/

A Gale of Defections

When Mr Matawalle’s defection is made official, the
Zamfara governor would be the second governor
from the PDP to join the APC in less than two
months and the third in the last seven months.

The Governor of Cross River State, Ben Ayade,
formally defected to the ruling APC in May after
months of speculation.

His defection came six months after the exit of his
Ebonyi State counterpart, David Umahi, who also
joined the ruling party in November 2020.



https://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/headlines/470216-zamfara-governor-bello-matawalle-joins-apc-buharis-aide-suggests.html

That is his own personal business if he decides to join the evil people in an evil party.

On a most serious note I've always seen him as an APC member. What difference does it make?

The activities of Apc in Nigeria is suspect