- Matawalle is the minister of state for defence.
- He was left on as Tinubu rejigged his cabinet on October 23.
Bayo Onanuga, President Bola Tinubu’s special adviser, has clarified allegations linking Bello Matawalle to northwest banditry as baseless.
Onanuga, speaking on Arise TV, explained Matawalle’s retention in office despite accusations due to the National Security Adviser’s (NSA) thorough investigation, debunking ties to bandits.
Matawalle faced repeated allegations of collaborating with northwest bandits.
Zamfara Governor Dauda Lawal shared claims of government house involvement in paying ransom for a permanent secretary’s children during Matawalle’s tenure.
Lawal suggested Matawalle should resign and clear his name. Matawalle denied bandit links, swearing by the Quran.
Onanuga labeled allegations against Matawalle as “mere fabrication” and politically driven.
“Most allegations are unfounded,” he said.
“In one of them, I got something like that and sent it to the NSA and asked: ‘Have you heard about this?’
“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.”
Recall that the president fired about seven ministers on Wednesday