Zamfara State Governor, Bello Matawalle has reportedly dumped the PDP for APC

Governor of Zamfara State, Bello Matawalle has dumped the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). Sources in the All Progressive Congress confirm to NewsWireNGR that the Governor has moved like his counterpart in Cross River State Ben Ayade did only last month.

Although, the defection is yet to be announced officially by the State Government, but the Personal Assistant to Nigeria’s President, Muhammadu Buhari on Digital and New Media, Bashir Ahmed disclosed this on his verified Facebook page on Sunday morning.

The presidential aide wrote ‘’So Zamfara is back home! Welcome, Matawalle’’.

Matawalle was elected into the House of Representatives by his constituents Bakura/Maradun in May 2003 on the platform of the defunct All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP).

Matawalle was then re-elected in 2007 still on the platform of the ANPP only to defect to PDP on which platform he was re-elected for a third term in 2011.

Matawalle polled 189,452 in the March polls as against the 534,541 votes for Muktar Idris, the APC candidate.

Muktar Idris was at first, issued the certificate of return, however, the court of appeal in Sokoto ordered that, INEC should withdraw the certificate.

The Supreme Court later pronounced that the votes cast for the APC in the election as wasted and ordered that the candidate with the second highest votes be sworn in . This is because the APC failed to conduct primary election for all the candidates in Zamfara State.

On 1 June 2021, Matawalle dissolved his Executive Council, reportedly in preparation for a party switch to the APC set to happen around June 12. Matawalle however, denied that the cabinet dissolution was connected to a party switch and claimed to have not made a decision on changing parties nor set a date.