Group claims that insecurity was prevalent in Zamfara during the reign of the APC government.

The Concerned Patriotic Citizens Forum (CPCF) has criticized the Zamfara State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) for trying to shift blame for the state’s insecurity onto Governor Dauda Lawal of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

The CPCF argues that it was actually the previous administration led by the APC that created the insecurity, and it is unjust for them to mock the victims of their own failure and blame the current governor.

The President of CPCF, Comrade Moses Toro, released a statement expressing his disappointment with the Zamfara State APC. He accused them of falsely accusing Governor Lawal of disregarding the state’s insecurity and celebrating at a PDP Governors’ Forum meeting in Enugu. Toro emphasized that if anyone is to be blamed for the security situation in Zamfara State, it is the APC and not Governor Lawal.

He pointed out that the insecurity in Zamfara State started during the tenure of the previous APC administration and actually worsened during that time.

“The attempt by the All Progressives Congress (APC) to lay the blame for the dire security situation in Zamfara State entirely at the feet of Governor Dauda Lawal is beyond preposterous,” the statement read.

“It’s on record that the insecurity in Zamfara State started during the tenure of the immediate past APC administration in the state.

“The then APC-led administration in the state sat on their hands and watched the insecurity worsen further.

“Contrary to the APC’s claims that Governor Lawal has done nothing but ‘celebrate in Enugu’ amid insecurity in Zamfara State, the Governor has done more in tackling insecurity in just one year in office than the past APC administration did in eight years.

“Under the immediate past APC administration, Zamfara went from being one of the most peaceful states of the federation to the most terrorized state in the North-West.

“A report showed that 327 people were killed in Zamfara State in the first quarter of 2022 alone. This was during the APC administration in the state. During the same regime, two local governments in Zamfara State, Anka, and Bukkuyum, were shut down by the state government due to insecurity.

“Therefore, those who brought about the killings and the mess Governor Lawal is trying to clean cannot turn around to mock Zamfarans and the rest of Nigerians simply because they have been rejected by the electorates.

“We consider the statement by APC as an attempt to mock the dead and families of those who have lost their loved ones to the insecurity inflicted on the North West in general and Zamfara in particular.

“The Concerned Patriotic Citizens Forum (CPCF) expects the APC to be remorseful rather than play politics with the insecurity it created. The party is hereby advised to desist from politicizing the plights of the victims of the insecurity it created.

“But if they want to continue to play the blame game, they should heap the blame on themselves as they are the chief architects of the insecurity in the state.”