The Governor of Zamfara State, Dauda Lawal, has said he inherited a near-empty treasury and crippling debts when he took over from his predecessor, Bello Matawalle.
Speaking during an interview on Arise TV on Monday, Lawal described the condition of Zamfara as a “complete mess” across sectors, with a failing education system, collapsed healthcare, widespread insecurity, and a mountain of financial liabilities.
“When I took over as governor, Zamfara State was in a mess in every aspect of life—security at the highest level, education and healthcare at the bottom, human development capacity almost non-existent,” he said.
Lawal disclosed that he met only N4 million in the state’s coffers amid a backlog of debts, including four and a half months of unpaid salaries, N1.6 billion owed to the judiciary, N1.6 billion to the West African Examinations Council (WAEC), and N1.4 billion to the National Examinations Council (NECO)
“The liabilities were unbelievable. There was nothing in our treasury. The records are there,” he said.
According to the governor, one of his first actions was to clear the salary arrears and negotiate with examination bodies to ensure Zamfara students could sit for exams and retrieve their certificates.
Lawal also lamented the poor remuneration of civil servants under the previous administration, stating,
“The salary of a civil servant in Zamfara State was N7,000—just N7,000 across the state and local governments. I had to raise it to the minimum wage of N30,000.”
He added that his government has now increased the minimum wage to N70,000.
On pension arrears, Lawal revealed that N16.5 billion had been owed to retirees since 2011, which his administration had fully cleared as of last month.
As part of efforts to revamp the education sector, Lawal declared a state of emergency in the sector and undertook holistic reforms.
“When I declared an emergency in education, it had to be holistic. We have renovated over 400 schools—fully renovated and furnished—across all the 40 local governments of the state,” he said.
The governor added that scholarships have been paid, including those of students studying in Sudan and India, while efforts are ongoing to settle those in Cyprus.
On security, Lawal said although Zamfara still experiences sporadic attacks, there has been a significant improvement.
“In the past, we were hearing that 100 or 200 people were being killed daily, but you hardly hear of that now,” he noted.
Commenting on the recent attack in Tsafe, Lawal said, “Yes, there was an incident in Tsafe, but I’m trying to verify the number. I don’t think it is up to 60 people who were abducted. No, it’s not correct.”
He added that the state had set up its own security outfit, which was recording progress in tackling banditry.
“Things are changing for the better,” he concluded.
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