The Nigerian Union of Communication (NUC) Zamfara State chapter has vowed to unseat the state Governor Bello Matawalle come 2023
This was part of the agreement reached with the abductors of their members who are demanding the sum of N60M ransom for the release of the twenty-nine Persons in Captivity
The Kidnappers had on Monday requested the payment of N145 million as ransom but reduced it Tuesday afternoon to N60N
They had also placed N5M on each of the Victims and vow not to release them individually
The threat to unseat Governor Matawalle by the Union of Communication was an extraction from the audio that went viral on social media which contains a conversation between the leader of the bandits who led the last Saturday abduction of some wedding guests who are mostly mobile phone/ accessories dealers and phone technicians along Sokoto-Gusau road and one of the NUC leaders simply identified as ‘Vice’.
The bandits’ leader, after dragging with one of the NUC leaders, insist that N5 million should be paid per abducted person, and further directed the union should look for money either from affected relatives or the state government in order to have their members released in Good health Condition
“I direct you should contact Governor Matawalle over your need to secure the immediate release of your members or u can equally reach out to any organization or individuals. Especially the Governor, we are aware he has money in abundant, but if you hesitate to comply with the directive, is the same as you sacrificing the lives of your members”, the bandit’s leader insists.
The bandits’ leader further warned that peace would never reign should the ruling APC remain in power in the state, therefore advising that the union should pay its contribution towards unseating Governor Matawalle for another person that will suit the interest of banditry.
In his response to the Bandits Leader, the ‘Vice’, who kicked against contacting Governor Matawalle over the matter, said “Governor Bello Matawalle has no human feelings at all, therefore would continue with the struggle to ensure all the demands are met, everyone in the state according to him knows that Governor Matawalle has no human feelings or pity on his people”
A few hours later after the audio went viral on social media, the vice apologized on an online news platform for his utterances, adding that all he said was out of anger as his two children are among those in Captivity
He noted that all hope to secure assistance for the release of the Victims at that time was almost gone and that forced him to speak to the Bandits Leader in anger.
“I really have spoken with the bandits’ leader in an effort to entice for the release of our members, but all I said in the conversation against Zamfara State Governor, Bello Matawalle, was done out of my senses”. He Confessed
“I stand to tender my unreserved apology for all that I have said especially against the 2023 gubernatorial ambition of Governor Bello Matawalle, and did not do so deliberately but only not to utter a word that would offend the bandits’ leader which may lead to the cancellation of the rescue processes”, he added.
It is five days now since members of the Zamfara State Union of Communications were abducted while returning from a wedding in Sokoto
The Union, Family, and Relations of the Victims are yet to know their fate regarding the release of those in Captivity as the bandits insist on no ransom no freedom.