I’ll deal with my deputy if he dares me, Matawalle goes tough

Governor Bello Matawalle of Zamfara State has warned Mahdi Aliyu, his deputy, not to dare him.

There has been a cold war between the duo since Matawalle defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC).

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While all the senators, house of representatives members and state lawmakers jumped ship with Matawalle, Aliyu has remained with the PDP.

To test his popularity, Aliyu organised a rally last week.

The timing of the rally had sparked an outrage as Zamfara had recorded fresh killings around the period.

But supporters of the deputy governor have argued that the APC also held a mega rally in the state when Matwalle joined them.

However, the Zamfara House of Assembly has summoned Aliyu over the rally.

The action of the state lawmakers had fueled suspicion on the plot to impeach Aliyu.

In an interview with DW Hausa Service on Saturday, Matawalle said he would not tolerate any act of disrespect from his deputy.

“I just read about the impeachment plan and called someone for clarification who told me that they would not accept it from the deputy governor to be organising rallies when people are being killed,” he said.

“As governor of the state, I promised to work together with the deputy governor, irrespective of our political affiliations. But I won’t tolerate disrespectful attitude from him.

“I won’t join issue with him but if he dares me, I will give him the treatment he deserves,” the governor said.

“We all agreed to halt any political rally welcoming politicians into the state since we lost some of our supporters while welcoming us.

“The deputy governor should have notified me of whatever he planned to do. Being of different political parties does not mean I am no longer his boss. Since the defection, he has stopped associating with me.”