Is It All About Joining APC?

President Bola Tinubu formally received the Zamfara State Governor, Dauda Lawal, into the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in Gusau last Tuesday where he assured the people of the state and the North-west of renewed measures to end insecurity and banditry in the region.

Lawal, who was elected on the platform of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), had earlier announced his decision to join the APC, citing the unresolved crisis in the opposition party.

Tinubu, who was represented by Vice President Kassim Shettima, addressed a mammoth crowd of supporters in Gusau, the state capital. He commiserated with all victims of banditry and kidnapping that had bedevilled the region for decades.

He said the federal and state governments would reinforce military and other security measures to end the menace in the region.

According to him, Lawal’s joining the ruling APC would enhance coordination and support for security agencies to end banditry in Zamfara, in particular, and the region in general.

Zamfara State has been one of the states most affected by banditry in northern Nigeria, with communities repeatedly facing attacks, kidnappings, and displacement of residents for over eight years.

Several security operations have been launched by the federal government and security agencies to curb the activities of armed groups operating in the state and neighbouring areas for the past 10 years without respite.

Since he became president in 2023, Tinubu’s government has not been able to solve the insecurity challenges confronting the state and the country at large. He has not even visited the state to commiserate with the people who have lost their loved ones.

Is it now that the governor has defected to the APC that he would solve the problems of the state?

Other states that are have been APC before he be became president, are they faring better today?

Last month, Governor Lawal cried out that the Tinubu’s government had not extended financial support or intervention funds to his state in the same manner it had done to other states.

He specifically cited political party affiliation as the reason for denying his state funding. He claimed that while some states had received substantial palliatives and intervention funds, Zamfara had been excluded.

Does joining APC improve the security and financial fortunes of states?