Gov Lawal accused of reversing Zamfara's progress by 6 years

A northern youth group, Arewa Youths for Democracy and Development (AYDD), has criticised Governor Dauda Lawal’s leadership in Zamfara State, claiming the state has regressed by six years since he assumed office in May 2023.

In a statement issued in Gusau on Sunday, July 20, 2025, the group’s president, Comrade Ibrahim Danladi Gwaska, stated that the administration has failed across critical sectors, including security, education, healthcare, infrastructure, and youth empowerment.

“Zamfara has effectively gone six years backward under Governor Dauda Lawal. What we see is not governance, but a tragic abdication of responsibility. There is no vision, no urgency, no coordination,” Gwaska said.

He described the security situation as dire, noting that communities in Maru, Zurmi, Anka, Shinkafi, and Tsafe are still under constant attack by bandits.

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“Governor Lawal promised to end the bloodshed, but our people are still being killed, kidnapped and displaced daily. There is no clear strategy. Instead, the government has retreated into silence while rural Zamfara burns,” he said.

On education, Gwaska stated that public schools across Bakura and Bungudu are in disrepair. “Primary and secondary schools lack chairs, roofs and even chalk. Teachers are unpaid, and children sit on bare floors. Yet the government goes about giving speeches at international conferences on education,” he lamented.

He further accused the administration of abandoning the healthcare system. “There are hospitals where women in labour are told to bring their own water and fuel. The health system has collapsed, but the governor prefers to fly abroad for check-ups. That is an insult to the poor people he swore to protect.”

The group also criticised the Lawal administration for alleged failure to implement any youth empowerment initiatives or complete key infrastructure projects initiated by the previous administration.

“These are not new roads. The previous government started them. But instead of completing them, this administration abandoned them. Now, farmers and traders are cut off, and transportation costs have doubled,” Gwaska noted.

AYDD further alleged a lack of transparency in budget implementation and contract awards. “Governor Lawal came into office branding himself as a World Bank technocrat who would fix Zamfara’s finances. But nothing has changed,” he said.

The group called on the Zamfara State House of Assembly, traditional leaders, and civil society to demand accountability.

“Zamfara people are not asking for miracles. We just want a government that listens, acts, and delivers. If Governor Lawal cannot do the job, he should admit it. This state cannot afford another lost decade,” Gwaska warned.

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AYDD said it will soon begin a statewide mobilisation campaign to build a movement focused on voting the governor out in 2027.