More than 40 persons has been reported to have died from various attacks by cattle rustlers and armed bandits in the state which has resulted to a massive protest in Tsafe Local Government Area by the people in the local government area to call on the governor who has been away from the state for several weeks to rise up to his responsibility of safeguarding the lives of the citizen of the state.
Governor Abdul’aziz Yari is nowhere to be found when people in the state are been helplessly killed daily. Governor Yari was reported to have left the state for several weeks now and had not returned after he handed over to the speaker of the state House of Assembly, Sanusi Garba Rikiji instead of his deputy Ibrahim Wakkala Mohammed, who is currently on ground in the state.
The reason why Governor Yari boycotted his deputy and handed over to the speaker of the state House of Assembly, Sanusi Garba Rikiji is a topic very many people in the state, especially commissioners and other public officers are very reluctant to comment on.
According to the Director of Press in the office of the deputy governor, Alhaji Yusuf Idris, Governor Yari boycotted his deputy, Ibrahim Wakkala Muhammed because both are not in talking terms.
The governor and his deputy has not been in talking terms after the 7th October, 2018 All Progressive Congress (APC) governorship primary election. Since the APC primary election after Ibrahim Wakkala Muhammed refused to support the anointed candidate of the governor, the current Commissioner of Finance, Alhaji Mukhtar Shehu Idris, the deputy has fallen out of favour with the governor.
As a result of this sore relationship, the deputy has not been receiving funds from the Ministry of Finance in running his office. The deputy has been repeatedly sidelined by the governor from state executive council security meetings and other state functions. All ministries (Ministry for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Zamfara State Pilgrims Welfare Board, Zamfara State Emergency Relief Management, and Housing and Town Planning) under the deputy governor have been taking away by the governor.
The persistent killings in the state and the continued absence of Governor Yari from the state was described by the chairman of the Senate Committee on Petroleum (Downstream), Senator Kabiru Garba Marafa (APC, Zamfara) as unfortunate. He expressed sadness on the continued absence of the governor even when the people who voted him into power are repeatedly killed on a daily basis by armed bandits and hoodlums.
Senator Kabiru Garba Marafa stated that he has met with President Muhammadu Buhari to discuss the situation in Zamfara State several times and the president is very worried and he is doing everything possible to restore normalcy to the state.
In a visit to the state to assess the security situation in the state, Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Sadiq Baba Abubakar, the acting governor, Rikiji confirmed the persistent killing going on in the state and thank the Nigerian troops and other security apparatus deployed to the state to restore normalcy to the state.
