Governor Matawalle promised to tackle unemployment and poverty as well as revamp the education and health sectors by By Mohammed Babangida.
Bello Matawalle, the outgoing governor of Zamfara State, was lucky to become governor in the first place. The candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2019 governorship poll, he did not become governor because he won the majority of the votes cast in the election. He was made governor after the Supreme Court ruled that the All-Progressives Congress (APC), which polled the majority of votes, did not conduct primaries for the election of its candidates in Zamfara State as a result of the in-fighting in the party at the time. The court voided all the APC votes and ordered that the candidates of the parties with the next highest votes should be declared the winners of the elections.
But Mr Matawalle could only manage to stay in power for one term. After defecting from the PDP, he faced the 2023 election as the APC candidate but was defeated in the 18 March governorship election by the PDP candidate, Dauda Lawal.
During the campaign before the 2019 election, Mr Matawalle promised to fight unemployment and poverty and revamp the education and health sectors.
Poverty rate, internal revenue and debt management
Mr Matawalle spoke passionately about fighting poverty during his campaign, which he said was spurred by insecurity in the state. In 2019 when he was sworn in, Zamfara State was worse than the national average "poverty headcount rate" as 73.98 per cent of the state's population was considered poor while the national average was 40.1 per cent. The state had a higher percentage of poor people than Sokoto, Taraba, Jigawa, Ebonyi and Adamawa states, according to a report by the Statista.
The multidimensional poverty index released in November 2022 stated that 78 per cent of Zamfara people are poor, meaning poverty worsened under Mr Matawalle, from 74 to 78 per cent.
Mr Matawalle also performed poorly in debt management In 2019, data showed the state had a combined domestic and external debt of N103.35 billion. The debt rose to N130.1 billion in 2020 and N130.94 billion in 2021. The state currently has the second-highest debt in the North-west region and occupies the 15th out of the 36 states of the federation.
However, from 2019 to 2021, the state witnessed an increase in its internal revenue generation (IGR), In 2018, it generated N8.21 billion, while in 2019 when Mr Matawalle took over, the state generated N15.42 billion. By 2021, the last year the data was provided, Mr Matawalle's administration had increased the internal revenue to N18.50 billion, according to NBS data.
The multidimensional poverty index released in November 2022 stated that 78 per cent of Zamfara people are poor, meaning poverty worsened under Mr Matawalle, from 74 to 78 per cent.
Mr Matawalle also performed poorly in debt management In 2019, data showed the state had a combined domestic and external debt of N103.35 billion. The debt rose to N130.1 billion in 2020 and N130.94 billion in 2021. The state currently has the second-highest debt in the North-west region and occupies the 15th out of the 36 states of the federation.
However, from 2019 to 2021, the state witnessed an increase in its internal revenue generation (IGR), In 2018, it generated N8.21 billion, while in 2019 when Mr Matawalle took over, the state generated N15.42 billion. By 2021, the last year the data was provided, Mr Matawalle's administration had increased the internal revenue to N18.50 billion, according to NBS data.
In 2021, the state chairman of the Nigeria Medical Association (NMA), Mannir Bature, lamented the concentration of health workers in the state capital as well as the general decay of hospitals in the state.
"The level of decay is disheartening. Only the General Hospital in Gusau has the facilities required for a decent health facility. In the remaining
13 local government areas, General Hospitals don't even have facilities for neonatal care..... 78% of the human resources in the health sector is
concentrated in Gusau, leaving just 22% to be shared amongst the remaining 13 local government areas," he said
Mr Matawalle also performed poorly in tackling infant and maternal mortalities in the state. In 2018, months before he took over, the child mortality rate stood at 130 deaths per 1,000 live births. The national average is 62 deaths. The rate increased to 136 deaths per 1,000 births in 2021, according to the Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey of the NBS.
Despite most of the development indices getting worse during his tenure, some residents of the state believe Mr Matawalle stole billions of naira meant to develop the state, a matter currently being investigated by the anti-graft agency, EFCC, although the governor has denied any wrongdoing.
- Culled from Premium Times
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