The Northern Elders Unity Forum of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has strongly criticized the Minister of State for Defence, Mohammed Bello Matawalle, accusing him of employing “reckless and undemocratic tactics” to lure PDP members into the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
In a statement issued on Saturday by the Forum’s National Secretary, Dr. Abbas Sadauki (Dan Madamin Tofa), after a strategic meeting of PDP elders from Kaura Namoda, Zurmi, Tsafe, and Bungudu local government areas, the group alleged that Matawalle has been using state influence and wealth to coerce PDP members—including elected officials and party executives—into defecting to the APC.
According to the elders, these actions are part of a deliberate political strategy aimed at weakening the opposition and destabilizing democratic balance in Northern Nigeria ahead of the 2027 general elections.
“Matawalle has embarked on a desperate mission to dismantle the PDP structure in Zamfara and across the North-West,” Dr. Sadauki said. “His consistent use of power and political appointments to induce defections has created leadership vacuums and poses a serious threat to the growth of democracy in our region.”
The Forum expressed deep concern that Matawalle’s ongoing defection campaign is deceiving loyal PDP members with false promises of better opportunities in the APC. It warned that such conduct undermines the principles of fairness, justice, and genuine democratic competition in Nigeria.
“We call on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to urgently caution Matawalle. His excessive political interference and desperation endanger democracy and the integrity of fair political competition in the country,” the statement added.
Recent reports from Zamfara State suggest that more than 24,000 PDP members, including former party executives and elders across six local government areas, have already defected to the APC following Matawalle’s influence.
