![The Minister of State for Defence, Alhaji Bello Matawalle. [Facebook]](https://image.api.sportal365.com/process/smp-images-production/pulse.ng/28102024/5a83fa6c-c8cf-4fd1-b4e3-b646ab295424?operations=autocrop(1042:580))
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The APC Youth Leaders Network has publicly defended Minister of State for Defence, Bello Matawalle, hailing his contributions to national security, especially in the Northwest, and distancing themselves from a protest calling for his probe.
At a press briefing in Abuja, the group dismissed the protest, allegedly orchestrated by the All Progressives Congress Young Leaders Alliance (APC-YLA), as “stage-managed” and “an embarrassing attempt to spread falsehood for vendetta politics.”
They accused Zamfara State Governor, Dauda Lawal, of funding the protest to deflect attention from his own “monumental failures.”
READ ALSO: We were offered N200m bribe to stage protest against Tinubu, Matawalle - Group
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According to the group, “Governor Dauda Lawal’s loud failure in discharging the basic functions of governance has pushed him into a new vocation—funding faceless coalitions, mobilising street protests, and orchestrating malicious narratives.”
The youth leaders described Lawal’s tenure as a “national embarrassment,” alleging he had turned the Zamfara Government House into “a propaganda hub and secret hideout for terrorists.”
They further called on the EFCC to investigate Lawal’s financial dealings and conduct a forensic audit of state expenditures.
READ ALSO: Zamfara govt accused of sponsoring anti-Matawalle protest to undermine Tinubu's govt
In contrast, Matawalle was praised as “an epitome of service, loyalty, and patriotism.”
They credited him with supporting counterinsurgency operations and improving security in the region through effective coordination of local intelligence.
The group stated, “We stand firmly behind President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda and the credible leadership of Minister Matawalle,” confident that truth and justice would prevail.