Group blasts gov Lawal over misuse of Zamfara resources, anti-peoples’revenues

The Zamfara Concerned Citizens Forum (ZCCF) has accused Governor Dauda Lawal of gross mismanagement of the state’s resources and implementing anti-people revenue policies that have deepened poverty across the state.

In a statement signed by its Secretary, Muhammad Ibrahim Marafa, the group faulted the governor’s decision to hand over Zamfara’s internal revenue operations to one Rakkiya Ahmad Dodo, a consultant from Funtua in Katsina State.

The Forum described the move as a “betrayal of trust” and alleged that Dodo receives ₦3.6 billion annually — a deal it labelled as a “shameless diversion of public wealth into private hands.”

According to ZCCF, while Zamfara receives over ₦35 billion in monthly federal allocations, residents including wheelbarrow pushers, tea sellers, and commercial tricycle riders are being taxed heavily.

“This administration is enriching outsiders while our people wallow in hunger and insecurity,” the statement read. “It is not governance but open robbery against the people the governor swore to serve.”

The group also accused the governor of refusing to support security agencies with logistics, describing the act as “a deliberate neglect” that has worsened insecurity in the state.

ZCCF urged the government to channel public funds into supporting victims of banditry, empowering local traders, and revamping education and healthcare.

It commended members of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) for suspending their strike despite being burdened by multiple taxes, calling their action a “reflection of Zamfara’s enduring spirit.”

The Forum further called on anti-corruption agencies to probe the alleged ₦3.6 billion consultancy deal and other suspicious financial transactions under Governor Lawal’s administration.

“Zamfara deserves transparency, fairness and genuine leadership — not greed and favouritism,” the group declared.