Lagos — In a move which remains incredible to an average indigene of Zamfara State, frontline All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) chieftain and Deputy Minority Whip of House of Representatives, Hon. Bello Muhammad Matawalle, has concluded plans to decamp to the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Already, a huge excitement has enveloped the state chapter of the PDP in anticipation of Matawalle's exit. Party top shots have been discussing the issue in hushed tones, while at the state PDP headquarters, calculations on the best way to accommodate Matawalle and his supporters in the party have begun. Accordingly, Governor Mahmud Aliyu Shinkafi is said to have directed the state PDP Chairman, Alhaji Ibrahim Mallaha, to make all the necessary arrangements to welcome Matawalle into the PDP's fold in an elaborate form. The governor was said to have given the instruction at the airport last Saturday on his way to Dubai on an official assignment. In compliance with the directive, the party has mandated Zamfara State Deputy Governor, Alhaji Mukhar Ahmad Anka, to liaise with Matawalle and ensure his smooth defection from the ANPP.

Matawalle has been a strong member of the ANPP since 1999. After failing in his bid to win the chairmanship election of Maradun Local Government Area of the state on the platform of the ANPP in 1999, he was appointed as a commissioner by former Governor Ahmad Sani Yarima and in 2003, he contested election into the House of Representatives and won. He was also re-elected in 2007. After Governor Mahmud Aliyu Shinkafi defected from the ANPP to the PDP on December 5, last year, Matawalle, along with his benefactor (Yarima) and another colleague at the House of Representatives, Abdulaziz Yari, became the leading opposition voices in Zamfara. At a point, he became the leading challenger to Shinkafi and was set to vie for the governorship seat on the platform of ANPP at the 2011 general election.

His opposition to Shinkafi was at times bitter and acrimonious. In an exclusive interview with THISDAY last February, Matawalle described Shinkafi's defection to the PDP as a mistake, insisting that the governor would regret his action in not too distant future.

Hear him: "Personally, I think the decamping was a mistake because I recall vividly that when we started the then (All Peoples Party) APP in Zamfara State in 1998/1999, lots of the same people he (Shinkafi) teamed up with today were the ones calling us names. Some powerful ones among them used every means, including security apparatus in their possession to bring us down.

"We succeeded because the people were convinced that their future and the future of their children laid with us. They gave us their trust in the face of wanton intimidation from the then PDP, but with God on our side, we triumphed. In 2000, the then Governor Yarima gave the state the Sharia legal system which they had been clamouring for since 1900 when it was taken away from us by the British colonialists. So, we took eight years ruling, Mamuda was Yarima's deputy and without being told, he knows the extent to which PDP went to get even a councillor's seat in the state. They were so desperate but were unsuccessful because the people didn't like them. So I want to remind the governor to remember all the struggles we made together. If anyone had told me then that Mamuda would one day decamp, then I wouldn't believe, but it has happened and I think he will pay for it politically speaking."

Against the background of these weighty words, it is believed that Matawalle's words will no doubt come back to haunt him, having opted to do what he had earlier accused Shinkafi of. But what was it that pushed him out of ANPP? Sources close to the two-time House member told THISDAY that Matawalle decided to change his political party after reaching a conclusion that his political interest and that of his constituency would be better served if he abandoned the ANPP.

"Yes it is true that honourale (Matawalle) is considering changing his political party. He arrived at this decision after weighing all the options before him. He arrived at the conclusion that his interest and that of his supporters would be better served in the PDP. He decided to decamp to PDP after being betrayed by some top officials of the ANPP. Over the last couple of few weeks, it became clear to him that he would not be given the party's ticket to stand for the election of governor at the 2011 election. As someone who has spent huge fortunes to keep the party afloat, he felt his only demand from the party leaders, to be given the gubernatorial ticket, was turned down. By that, he felt betrayed by the action and decided to work for the PDP and the success for Governor Mahmud Aliyu Shinkafi's second term bid," a source revealed.

The source who declined to be named, added that Matawalle found it easy to make his choice, considering the fact that he has deep respect for Shinkafi and some key members of his government. "The kind of relationship existing between Matawalle and the Deputy Governor of Zamfara (Mukhtar Ahmad Anka) and the Speaker of the State House of Assembly (Hon. Bature Abdullahi Umaru Sambo) is well-known. It is public knowledge that those two high ranking figures have persuaded him in the past to join the PDP, but he declined. So this time around, his making a decision was not difficult and the two leaders have assured him that he will be welcomed and respected in the PDP."

In an interview with THISDAY in February, Matawalle had acknowledged the fact that Anka and Sambo had both invited him to join the PDP in the past, but he declined. "Some of my friends, especially the Deputy Governor (Mukhtar Ahmad Anka) and the Speaker of the state House of Assembly (Hon. Bature Umar Sambo) have done their bit to lure me to PDP, but I told them no. Some people have assumed that because Shinkafi and his supporters had decamped to the PDP, the new development would affect our personal relationships but that is not the case. Sambo and Anka were my best friends when we served as commissioners (in Yarima's cabinet) and they are still my best friends. Any time they come to Kaduna, we are always together. Politics will not affect our relationship and it will continue that way. The fact is that we are always together and we will continue to do things together," he said.

According to some insiders, another reason that may have pushed Matawalle out of the ANPP was that Matawalle had always complained that he had never been treated fairly by the party. In most cases, as the leading sponsor of the party in the state, he had expected to be consulted on some key issues and decisions but most times, he only got to read about some of those decisions on the pages of newspapers, which always made him aggrieved.

"I know of two instances in the past where he complained to Yarima that he was not consulted on certain decisions and party leaders did all they could to calm him down. Three weeks ago, at a close meeting with some of his supporters in Kaduna, he disclosed that he was withdrawing from the race to be governor because he felt he had not received enough backing from Yarima. Many of his supporters at the meeting begged him not to take such a drastic decision but it appeared that he had made up his mind," Bello Ibrahim, one of Matawalle's campaign co-ordinators told THISDAY. He added that they had already received instructions to repaint all the campaign vehicles earlier given to them from ANPP to PDP banners and said they would carry out the instruction. He however declined to say who gave them the instruction.

For observers of political events in Zamfara, the latest setback to hit the ANPP will be more devastating than Shinkafi's defection. This is because Matawalle, apart from being the major financier of the party, is one politician whose rough tactics will surely shake any opposition. Many had relied on him to give the ANPP the strength to undertake a serious fight against the PDP. With his planned departure, the party may find it difficult to cope. And the list of high profile politicians still left in the party has reduced from three to two.

Last December's defection by Shinkafi and members of the state executive council confirmed the lingering decline in the fortunes of the party at both the state and the national level. The ANPP was once a vibrant opposition party with some of the brightest minds in the country within its ranks. However, the party has today become a shadow of its former self and has watched helplessly as its leading lights leave the party in droves. From states to the federal level, many former ANPP stalwarts are now holding sensitive positions under the banner of other parties. Unlike other states of the federation where their members have decamped, the Zamfara example is more pathetic. Having held off the PDP from power for ten years, the party suddenly discovered that a governor elected on its platform has suddenly teamed up with its sworn enemies to snatch the state from its grip.

Early last month, both the state and federal legislatures from Zamfara turned down an invitation by the party to attend a meeting in Gusau. Deputy Speaker of the Zamfara State House of Assembly, Honourable Murtala Adamu Jangebe, in an interview with THISDAY, said the state chapter of the party has no right to invite them for any meeting.

"I won't comment much on the invitation until I receive it, but I am baffled because this is the first time the party has recognized our existence as members of the ANPP. To be frank with you, I don't even know who the executive members of the party in this state are. I don't know when or how they came to power. Sometimes back, we read on the pages of newspapers that the state ANPP held a congress where local government executives of the party were announced.

"No one invited us to be part of that exercise even though we are here in Gusau. Similarly, we heard that they held some meetings during the last Ramadan but no one invited us, where would they be keen to invite us for a meeting now?" The deputy speaker said he had fore knowledge of the said invitation, but assured that no member of the state House of Assembly would have anything to do with the party "at this point in time." He however, declined to elaborate further.

While the party might still be wondering what necessitated such strong reactions from the lawmakers, many of them had publicly rendered their support to the PDP government at the state level. Many of them are always present at PDP functions in the state, while others have rendered cash and other logistic support for the success of Shinkafi in the 2011 polls. For instance, at a ceremony in Gusau last June, a senator, Gusau, donated cars and motorcycles to the Shinkafi Second Term Committee and assured that he would contribute his quota to the success of the governor come 2011.

In a speech at the event, he said: "Shinkafi has proved his mettle in the last two years and as a peace-loving and progressive-minded person, I join millions of our people who are calling on him to continue in office in 2011. He has brought development to all the nooks and crannies of our dear state. He has given thousands of youth employment and he has completely changed the face of the educational sector of this state. I enjoin my supporters and other people of this state, to support his re-election bid. The cars I have donated today should be used to enter every corner of this state to mobilise people for this project. We will not relent until we achieve total success in 2011 God willing."

He added that his decision to support the governor was informed by the need to have unity in the state. According to him, recent developments have shown that political divisions only heighten tension and lead to skirmishes between rival supporters.

"I have done a lot for the unity and progress of this state; as such I will never allow myself to be part of any decision that will undermine that effort. We have someone at the helm who has shown determination and willingness to move our state forward. With that, I think we are duty bound to support him and encourage him. As I have always pointed out, the governor's achievements since he took over in 2007, speak for themselves. He has reduced lots of workload for us since he will not have to campaign much. Everyone in this state has seen what has been achieved as such. They don't need much convinction. They have seen it on ground and they are satisfied with it. So two terms are as good as they have happened. We are only waiting for the day to come."

On his part, Senator Sahabi Ya'u Kaura, representing Zamfara North, said he had no option than to support the second term ambition of the governor. According to him, "every person in my constituency seems to be supporting (the) two term agenda." The senator, who had last year donated N10 million to the re-election campaign, told journalists that "as a politician, the need and desire of the people of my constituency come first. I have no option than to go to where my people want me to be. That is the essence of representation. I have given my support for two terms and will continue to do so until our objective has been achieved in the year 2011."

Having gone into what can best be described as a trance, the ANPP has continued to face criticisms and acts of sabotage from within. In addition, many of the party's supporters are also confused on the true intentions of Yarima. The bearded former governor, it will be recalled, had a strong affiliation with the PDP before Shinkafi's defection. Many are of the view that Yarima might even have to contend with a 'moral burden' arising from his open romance with the PDP in the past. In their estimation, he single-handedly sold the future of the ANPP to President Umaru Yar'Adua under the contraption called Government of National Unity (GNU). Yarima had led the ANPP into negotiation on the GNU. To those people, Shinkafi only succeeded in beating Yarima to his own game; as such he cannot now turn around and blame Shinkafi for betraying his former party.

These are certainly not the best of times for the Zamfara ANPP. Close observers of things in the state are already predicting catastrophe for the party at the 2011 poll should the current trend of events continues. All the supporters of the party are now looking up to Yarima to provide leadership and inspiration at this critical moment. But how can he achieve this if he cannot get financial backing from the state government? This remains one rhetorical question seeking an answer.