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By Sunday Ani
A nongovernmental organisation, the Egalitarian Africa, has urged President Bola Tinubu to ignore allegations against the Minister of State for Defence, Dr Bello Matawalle, insisting that his experiences as a former governor were highly needed to fight terrorism and banditry.
The group, in a statement by its General Secretary, Akogun Olutoye Sunday, was responding to the resignation of the defense minister, Mohammed Badru, and calls in some quarters for Matawalle to also resign.
It noted that the Badiru’s resignation should not mean that the Minister of State must also resign.
“Those calling for Matawalle’s resignation are doing so for selfish reasons.
“As a former Governor of Zamfara State, Matawalle has an edge in knowledge of how to combat banditry. His experiences as a governor in a state like Zamfara will be brought to bear in tackling insecurity.
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“In battling issues of banditry and other crimes, experience is needed. Not just experience as a security personnel but firsthand as a governor who had dealt with issues of banditry and terrorism,” the group said
It pointed out that in dealing with appointments on sensitive matters, the Federal Government must remain firm and stand by its convictions about those it appointed.
“You hardly see any appointment in Nigeria that will not be trailed by controversies.
“However, the people must have their say but the government should not be swayed by sentiments engineered by a few people for selfish interests,” the group stated.
It noted that someone must have gone to great lengths and probably paid so much to bring out a video just for the purpose of ensuring the minister is removed.
The group said there was the need for Nigerians to close ranks and support the Federal Government and its appointees to fight challenges of insecurity nationwide.
“This is not about title or who gets it. It is about our nation against criminals. It is a wake up call to all well meaning Nigerians to support the fight and not to pull people down without asking the necessary questions,” it added.
The group, however, urged the minister to remain focused and to ignore distractions that may affect his performance.
