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The All Progressives Congress, APC Integrity Network has urged President Bola Tinubu, the National Working Committee and security agencies were asked to look into what it called a concerted effort to use state-sponsored extortion to remove high-ranking party officials.

The ruling party’s pressure group claimed that the Zamfara State Government was funding demonstrations against Bello Matawalle, the minister of state for defense, as part of a larger scheme to undermine President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration.

Bamidele Ibrahim Ayoola, President of the APC Integrity Network, said in a statement released Friday in Abuja that the protest organized by the so-called APC Young Leaders Alliance was a “cash-for-mob stunt” that was planned by political hirelings who support the current Zamfara administration to divert Matawalle’s attention from his continued service to Nigeria’s defense and security framework.

According to Ayoola, many of the demonstrators were “mobilized with peanuts” and were unaware of Matawalle’s identity or the nature of the petition they purportedly supported.

“It is shameful and dangerous for any group to rent a crowd to smear a sitting minister at a time when national unity and security should be our focus. We have credible evidence that these protesters were sponsored with state funds from Zamfara, with each participant receiving between N10,000 and N20,000 to carry placards they can’t even read,” Ayoola said.

The APC Integrity Network reports that multiple witnesses at the EFCC offices and in the Maitama neighborhood attested to witnessing two busses bearing fleet numbers from the Zamfara State Government drop off the demonstrators at the EFCC gates early on Friday morning.

“They arrived in chartered vehicles from Kaduna and Gusau, clearly not grassroots APC members as they claimed. Some of the placards were even mislabelled, calling the minister ‘Bello Masari’ instead of Matawalle, exposing the hasty nature of the arrangement,” Ayoola added.

The group also made public pictures and brief videos that allegedly showed money being given to some protestors following the event. They said the money was allegedly transferred through a proxy connected to a high-ranking official in the Zamfara administration.

In order to weaken the APC-led federal government and cause internal strife within the party before the general elections in 2027, Ayoola insisted that the campaign against Matawalle was a component of a larger plan.

He said that the demonstration was a part of a planned effort to topple the Tinubu administration by disparaging its important ministers, particularly those regarded as powerful in northern politics.

“This is not just about Matawalle. This is about weakening Tinubu’s cabinet from within and fuelling disunity in the APC. These enemies of progress are hoping to frame President Tinubu’s ministers as corrupt or ineffective ahead of 2027,” he added.

“This is not just about Matawalle. It’s about distracting our party’s federal ministers and creating a false narrative of selective justice to confuse the public. This is about weakening Tinubu’s cabinet from within and fuelling disunity in the APC. These enemies of progress are hoping to frame President Tinubu’s ministers as corrupt or ineffective ahead of 2027.”

Recall that President Bola Tinubu selected Matawalle as Minister of State for Defense in an attempt to bolster the country’s response to insecurity, particularly in the northern region, and that he served as governor of Zamfara from 2019 to 2023.

Matawalle has been “laser-focused” on addressing insecurity in Zamfara and other frontline states since taking office, according to the APC Integrity Network, and “enemies of progress” are concerned about the goodwill he has managed to garner across party lines.

“It is unfortunate that while the minister is deploying his experience to help the Nigerian military counter banditry and terrorism, some bitter politicians in his home state are sponsoring protests to distract him,” the group said.

“The truth is, the defence minister has been laser-focused on improving military operations in the North-West. That is why he’s being targeted. But the public must not fall for these diversionary tactics. If anything, this protest proves that he’s hitting the right nerves.

“So we challenge the EFCC to investigate the source of the funds used to sponsor Friday’s protest. Who paid for the transport, food, accommodation, and banners? Nigerians deserve to know.”

“If anyone has facts or proof against Matawalle, let them follow due process. But this rented crowd strategy must stop. The APC must not become a theatre for vendettas,” Ayoola concluded.

The group also threatened to name and disgrace state actors sponsoring the campaign and petition relevant federal agencies for breach of public confidence and diversion of funds if these “mercenary protests” persisted.

In response to unfair attacks on party leaders by so-called “enemies within and outside the party,” the APC Integrity Network pledged to continue being watchful and standing up for them.

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