Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Information and Strategy, has cleared Defence Minister, Bello Matawalle of allegations linking him to banditry in the North-West.
Matawalle, a former Governor of Zamfara, has faced accusations of collaborating with bandits.
However, Onanuga cited an investigation by the National Security Adviser’s office that found the claims untrue.
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Onanuga described the allegations as “politically motivated” and stressed that President Tinubu had thoroughly vetted Matawalle before keeping him in the cabinet.
“As far as I know, most of those things are just mere allegations.
“In one of them, I got something like that and sent it to the NSA and asked: ‘Have you heard about this?’
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“The NSA said: ‘No. We have probed a lot of those things; they are not true’. People are just bringing out all kinds of fake things and allegations. That is why the man (Matawalle) is still in the cabinet.
“The president, I’m sure, has heard many stories about him. For him to be there shows that… like I have said, some of those things have been probed; they have been found not to be true.
“The NSA office has already investigated some of those allegations. There are mere fabrication,” Onanuga said in an interview on Arise Television on Wednesday.
Recently, Zamfara Governor, Dauda Lawal narrated how the government house was allegedly used to pay ransom for children of a permanent secretary during Matawalle’s administration.
Lawal advised Matawalle to resign from the federal cabinet and clear his name.
However, Matawalle denied any ties to bandits, swearing by the Quran.
The development comes amidst ongoing efforts to address insecurity in the North-West region.
