Zamfara State Governor Dauda Lawal has firmly rejected calls to leave the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and join Nigeria’s ruling party, the All Progressives Congress (APC).
The governor’s refusal comes after former Zamfara governor Bello Matawalle, who now serves as Minister of State for Defence, publicly urged him to switch sides.
Lawal won the governorship election in 2023 as a PDP candidate, making him the fifth civilian governor of Zamfara State.
According to The Punch, the governor’s media aide, Mustafa Kaura, said Lawal would not abandon the party that brought him to power.
“Some people have been spreading rumours that Governor Dauda Lawal is planning to dump his party, the PDP, and join APC. There is no iota of truth in this. As such, I want the PDP supporters to disregard this,” Kaura said.
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He added that the governor remains committed to his political home. “Governor Dauda Lawal will remain in the PDP and has no intention of joining any other party. He is a true believer who believes in God and whatever God has destined to happen must happen, no matter the party he belongs,” the spokesperson stated.
Matawalle made his appeal during a Sallah celebration on Saturday at his home in Maradun, where thousands of supporters visited to pay their respects. The minister’s statement was released Sunday through former Information Commissioner Alhaji Ibrahim Dosara.
Matawalle also suggested that Lawal was already secretly considering joining the APC. “Dauda Lawal should come and join the APC rather than the hide-and-seek type of game he is currently playing,” the minister said.
He then assured the governor of a friendly reception, saying he held no personal grudges and that Lawal would be “highly welcome into the comfortable fold of the APC.”
The minister urged Lawal to join what he called the party of “security, progress, development, peace and tranquillity.” He also challenged the governor to use large federal government payments to build more development projects and basic infrastructure across Zamfara.
