Governor Dauda Lawal of Zamfara State has said that he inherited an empty treasury from his predecessor, Bello Matawalle, who has since been appointed as the Minister of State for Defence by President Bola Tinubu.
The Governor said this during an interview on a Channels Television programme: “Politics Today,” despite denial by the Minister.
Lawal, who appeared on the Monday edition of the programme, said contrary to the demand by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission that Matawalle should account for N70 billion, he realised when he assumed office that over N250 billion was not accounted for.
He said: “EFCC made a pronouncement sometime around May 21, 2023 or there about that it was alleging that N70 billion was stolen.
“That means before I took over.
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“By the time I took over, I realised that that N70 billion they mentioned was a child’s play.
“So far, based on available records, we realised over N250 billion was not accounted for.
“It is very funny.
“Let me explain to you the state I inherited.
“I inherited a very dysfunctional state.
“When I took over, there was no N4 million in Zamfara State Government account – just empty.
“There was a backlog of salaries for four months.
“For three years, none of Zamfara indigenes wrote either WAEC or NECO.
“I had to settle N1.3 billion for NECO and N1.6 billion for WAEC.
“Some of the students got their certificates after we settled WAEC and NECO.”
