PDP’s Mutawalle Is Zamfara Governor-Elect-INEC.

By John Nwokocha, Abuja

The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, on Saturday confirmed Bello Mutawalle of the Peoples Democratic party as the governor-elect of Zamfara State.

National chairman INEC,Prof Mahmoud Yakubu, made the confirmation at a press conference in Abuja, saying that the PDP candidate met the required score to be governor.

Mutawalle came second in the March 2019 governorship election in the state, behind the candidate of the All Progressives Congress.

But the Supreme Court on Friday nullified the APC’s victory, on the ground that the party did not conduct valid primaries ahead of the guber, national and house of assemblies polls.According to the Supreme Court the candidates who came second behind the APC, in all positions are winners.

Confirming the PDP’s Mutawalle,Yakubu said, all the positions including house of assembly seats, were also affected by the ruling.

The electoral commission, INEC, had earlier said it would reach a decision on Monday on which candidate would benefit from the ruling.

Yakubu, said the successful candidates would receive their certificate of return on Monday.

The 49-year-old Mutawalle has been in the political space for at least 20 years, serving as commissioner and member of the House of Representatives.

Born in Maradun Local Government Area of Zamfara on December 12, 1969, Matawalle attended Maradun Township Primary School and finished in 1979. He studied at the Yaba College of Technology, Lagos for his higher education and proceeded to Thames Valley University, London.

He worked at the Ministry of Health, in the former Sokoto and as a teacher in Government Girls College Moriki and Kwatarkoshi, and later joined the Federal Ministry of Water Resources, Abuja. He joined politics in 1998 under defunct United Nigeria Congress Party (UNCP).

From May 1999 to 2003, he served as Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Commissioner for Environment, Rural Development and Commissioner for Youth and Sports.

In May 2003, he was elected as member representing Bakura/Maradun Federal Constituency under ANPP. In the House he served as chairman House Committee on Ethics and Privileges, the Position he held till 2007.

He was re-elected for a second term in 2007 and decided “in the interest of his people” to decamp from ANPP to PDP which he did in 2009 and in 2011, he was re-elected for a third term under the platform of the PDP.

During his electioneering campaign, Matawalle had said he would transform the state from “penury to Eldorado” within a few months of his administration if elected as governor of the state.

He blamed the APC-led government for the “total failure” in the state, and pledged to implement formidable economic reforms that would make the state self-reliant.

He has also expressed worry about the security situation in Zamfara, and promised to run an open administration that would accommodate inputs from all segments of the population to tackle insecurity.

He had also said if elected that he would focus on three key issues – security, education and health, and that the state would only move forward if the three sectors were given the attention they deserved.

Matawalle also promised to look into some basic social welfare needs of poor people, saying that efforts would be made towards improving their living standards.