The dissolution of the Zamfara State executive council on Tuesday is part of Governor Bello Matawalle’s preparations for defecting to the All Progressives Congress (APC), a source close to the governor has told PREMIUM TIMES.
According to the source, who asked not to be named because he was not authorised to speak on the development, Mr Matawalle will formally declare for the APC on June 12, as part of the ceremony to mark Democracy Day.
The source said the governor dissolved his cabinet because some members, including the deputy governor, Mahdi Aliyu, are reluctant to make the journey to the ruling party with him.
For a while, it has been rumoured that the governor has been harbouring plans to dump the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), even though some leaders of the APC in the state do not want him in the party.
On Tuesday, he sacked the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Bala Bello, the 23 commissioners, his Chief of Staff, Bala Mande, and the Deputy Chief of Staff, Bashir Maru.
Following the development, sources who spoke with PREMIUM TIMES said the governor will finally dump the PDP on June 12.
Mr Matawalle wants to be in the APC before the National Conventional of the party in June. To participate in the convention, he needs to register with the APC in its on-going membership revalidation and registration exercise.
Mr Matawalle was declared governor on May 24, 2019, after the Supreme Court disqualified all the APC candidates in the state in the general election of that year over the failure of the party to conduct valid primaries.
The apex court ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission to cancel the votes secured by the APC in all the elections and decide the new winners from the remaining valid votes.
(C) Premium Times
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