Following the allegation by the Senator representing Zamfara Central, Kabiru Marafa, that Governor Abdulaziz Yari and his deputy were responsible for the insecurity in Zamfara state, the governor has boasted that he will kill Marafa politically in 2019.
Governor Yari said Senator Marafa was only playing politics with security of lives of Zamfara people without contributing anything to end the challenges, stressing that he was seeking unnecessary relevance ahead of 2019 elections.
Senator Marafa had on Wednesday while contributing to Senate debate on insecurity in Nigeria, alleged that governor Yari and his deputy run criminal gangs who have been laying siege on the state, adding that the criminal gangs and militias had kidnapped some persons in his community.
The Governor who spoke through one of his Special Advisers, Alhaji Salisu Isah at a press conference in Kaduna on Thursday responded to the alarm raised by the Senator that if anything happened to him, Governor Yari should be held responsible.
He explained, “Yes we are going to kill him politically, we are going to bury his political ambition in 2019. He wants to be governor, he is not going to get it, even the Senate he is not going to return.”
Reading from his prepared text, the governor’s aide added, “the Senator displayed his fraudulent character and l made it a duty to respond to these reckless allegations with the view to among other reasons let the world know the character of Senator Kabiru Garba Marafa and why he cannot be taken seriously.
”It is irresponsible and cheap blackmail for Senator Marafa to state that governor Yari and his deputy were responsible for the insecurity in Zamfara state.”
According to him, this was because, “on his inauguration, governor Yari has stated among his administration’s key priorities is to address the menace of insecurity in the state; especially cattle rustling, kidnapping and armed banditry that has denied Zamfara people of sound sleep for many years.
“Shortly after assuming office, governor Yari has paid several visits to the President and Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces as well as Military Service Chiefs to appeal for the federal government assistance to tackle the menace of insecurity occasioned by cattle rustling, armed banditry and criminality in the state.
“This is to underscore the commitment of the governor towards ending insecurity and criminality in Zamfara State as against what Senator Marafa alleged.”
He, however, said, “There is no record anywhere to indicate the contributions of the Senator towards addressing the problem. What is in public domain is the Senator’s politicking and noise making to seek undue relevance and hypocritical display of fake loyalty to President Buhari.”
Salisu added, “The Senator should not be taken seriously because the allegations he raised are baseless, mischievous and unfounded.
“Instead of Senator Marafa to look for ways to assist the state government, he is busy making noise and seeking undue relevance.
“The question one should ask is what is the contribution of Marafa towards solving the insecurity problems in Zamfara State If he claims to be concerned as a Senator representing the people of Zamfara Central Senatorial Zone?”
Speaking on the Governor’s efforts, Isha said, “Apart from the federal government intervention, governor Yari sought self-help by mobilizing local vigilante to confront the security challenges in the state.
“Yari went out of his way to reach a peace agreement with the leaders of these known criminal gangs all in an effort to ensure government guarantees security of lives and property in Zamfara state.”
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