CNF Demands Probe of Sponsors Behind Fake Protest Against Matawalle

By Simone Oladodu

The Concerned Northern Forum (CNF) has cleared a misconception surrounding recent attacks on Honourable Minister of State for Defence, Bello Matawalle, through a sponsored fake protest calling on the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to investigate him.

Addressing a press conference in Kaduna, the Chairman of the forum, Alhaji Aliyu Muhammad Sani, described the protest as another shameless and dishonest act perpetrated by a so-called faceless and non-existent group that claimed to be the All Progressives Congress Young Leaders Alliance (APC-YLA), which staged a protest demanding the probe of Matawalle.

“This is nothing but another episode in the series of sponsored, devilish, and character-damaging campaigns by certain unpatriotic, dishonest enemies of democracy threatened by the gigantic successes achieved by the Minister. The opposition has allegedly set aside a sum of 2 billion naira for such purposes.

“All their campaigns are nowhere close to the truth but are full of jargon, falsehoods, and devilish notes meant for destructive purposes. This is not the first attempt — they have tried using different organizations and persons, all of which have failed, yet they refuse to back down.”

He added, “We are here to expose them to Nigerians, reveal their real identities as the criminals and frauds that they are, and bring an end to their sponsored and unpatriotic plot. The APC-YLA is non-existent and nonfunctional, created solely for this smear campaign against Minister Matawalle.

“The address they provided is fake; it is merely a marketplace with no proper location. The protest itself was a farce — only a few participants were above 18, while the rest were minors, hired and paid peanuts to carry placards and chant slogans they did not understand.”

CNF also reported the matter to the All Progressives Congress (APC), expressing concern that the party’s name was being used in vain. The forum called on the APC and security agencies to investigate the group and publish a full list of its alleged members and affiliates.

The group expressed confidence that the ruling party would not allow itself to be used as a tool for witch hunts or personal vendettas and urged security agencies to act swiftly to expose and stop the imposters.

“We maintain that this madness must stop, sanity must return, and the normal status quo must be followed,” it stressed.

ENDS