A former governorship candidate in Zamfara State, Dr. Sani Abdullahi Shinkafi, has called on President Bola Tinubu and the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda, to caution the Minister of State for Defence, Bello Matawalle, over what he described as his “divisive brand of politics” in the state.
In a statement released on Friday, Shinkafi warned that the APC risked another electoral defeat in Zamfara in 2027 if Matawalle failed to end his alleged “divide-and-rule tactics” that had forced several prominent politicians to leave the party.
According to the APC chieftain, who was a member of the Tinubu-Shettima Presidential Campaign Council in 2023, Matawalle has allegedly converted his ministerial office into a governorship campaign base, using it to host defectors and consolidate control over party structures in the state.
“It is worrisome that Matawalle, who ought to use his position as a former governor and current Minister of State for Defence to unite, stabilize, and strengthen the APC in Zamfara, is instead the one causing disaffection among party members ahead of the 2027 general election,” Shinkafi said.
“He has failed to learn from the politics of bitterness and vendetta that factionalized the party and led to his defeat as a sitting governor by the PDP’s Dauda Lawal.”
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Shinkafi accused the minister of expending energy and resources fighting influential APC leaders instead of focusing on party unity and membership growth.
“Rather than an intensive membership drive, Bello Matawalle has been chasing shadows in a vicious cycle. This infantile politics must stop if the APC hopes to reclaim Zamfara in 2027,” he added.
The politician alleged that Matawalle had been “sowing seeds of discord” since his failed re-election bid, targeting top party figures such as Hon. Aminu Sani Jaji, Senator Kabiru Marafa, and former governors Abdul’aziz Yari, Ahmad Sani Yerima, and Mahmuda Aliyu Shinkafi.
He claimed that internal rifts deepened after Matawalle accused Jaji and his supporters of anti-party activities in 2023, leading to the emergence of factional APC leaderships under Isiyaka Ajiya Anka and Alhaji Sirajo Maikatako.
Shinkafi further revealed that he had distanced himself from certain party activities to avoid “unnecessary confrontations and further factionalization” within the Zamfara APC.
He also alleged that he narrowly escaped an assassination attempt in August 2025, which he described as politically motivated by “reactionary forces” in the state.
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“It is ignoble for a minister of the Federal Republic to turn his office into a personal campaign base where he receives inter-party and intra-party defectors,” he said.
“The war against terrorism, insurgency, banditry, militancy, and kidnapping should preoccupy the minds of any Defence Minister and his deputy, as the security and welfare of the people remain the primary purpose of government.”
Shinkafi therefore urged President Tinubu and the APC national chairman to urgently intervene and call Matawalle to order “before it is too late.”
