- Safiu Kehinde
Zamfara State Governor, Dauda Lawal, has accused the President Bola Tinubu administration of political bias as he alleged that his state was been deliberately excluded from receiving over N500 federal government’s palliative funds disbursed to other states.
Lawal made the allegation during an exclusive interview with Deutsche Welle (DW) News.
Speaking in the interview conducted in Hausa language with a clip shared on X on Tuesday, the governor alleged that his state’s exclusion from the allocation was borne out of his refusal to defect to the All Progressives Congress (APC) from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Lawal maintained that that party affiliation, not need, is determines allocation of federal relief resources.
“I know of States that have received over 500 billion Naira from the Federal Government as palliative, but I have never received anything. I think the reason I don’t get it is because I’m not in APC.” He said
According to reports, the governor said the exclusion not only undermines equitable governance but also fuels perceptions of political patronage in national decision‑making.
This had deepened an existing debate about how federal palliatives, originally designed to cushion citizens from economic hardship, such as the impact of subsidy removal, are shared across the federation.