Bello Muhammad Matawalle is the ex-governor of Zamfara State.
He is a teacher, Politician and the current Minister of State for Defence.
This article coined by ENigeria Newspapers archives the a brief profile of Dr Bello Mohammad Matawalle.
Profile summary
Name: Bello Mohammad Matawalle
Date of birth: 12th February,1969
State of origin: Maradun, Zamfara State
Religion: Islam
Education: Yaba College of Technology
Marital status: Married
Political Party: All Progressive Congress (APC)
Portfolio: Minister of State for Defence
Occupation: Teacher, Politician
Early life
Bello Matawalle was born in Maradun LGA of Zamfara State on the 12th of February,1969.
Education
He attended Maradun Township primary school where he obtained his first school Leaving Certificate in 1979.
In 1984, he graduated from VTC Bunza before attending the Yaba College of Technology in Lagos.
He further went to Thames Valley University in London to further his academic pursuit.
Family
Being a devout Muslim, he is married to four wives and has children from his wives.
The names of Matawalle’s wives are; Aisha Matawalle, Balkisu Matawalle, Fatimah Matawalle, Sadiya Matawalle.
Career
Matawalle earned his income as a teacher at Government Girls College, Moriki and Kwatarkoshi before working with the Federal Ministry of Water Resources.
Political career
After leaving the Federal Ministry of Water Resources, Matawalle joined the defunct United Nigeria Congress Party (UNCP) and contested for a house of assembly seat which he emerged victorious.
He was Zamfara State’s Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Commissioner for Environment, Rural Development and then Commissioner for Youth and Sports from 1999 to 2003.
Matawalle represented Bakura/ Maradun Constituency in 2003 while in the defunct All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP).
Matawalle was re-elected in 2007 in the same party, ANPP, but defected to the People’s Democratic party (PDP) where he was elected for a third term in 2011.
Matawalle became the 2019 PDP gubernatorial candidate after winning in the party’s primaries.
During the polls, Matawalle polled 189,452 as against the 534,541 votes for Muktar Idris, the APC candidate.
Muktar Idris was at first, issued the certificate of return, however, the court of appeal in Sokoto ordered that the INEC should withdraw the certificate due to failure of APC to conduct primary election for their candidates and this ruling made Matawalle to be sworn into office as he scored the second highest votes.
In 2021, Matawalle defected from PDP to the All Progressive Congress ( APC) and was appointed as APC Leader of Zamfara State.
Awards
Bello Mohammad has received several awards in appreciation for his leadership and service to humanity. Some of these awards are;
- The Sun Newspaper “Man of the Year” Award in 2020.
- Best Governor of the Year on Security and Humanitarian Services by the Access Weekly Magazine in 2020.
- Media Friendly Governor of the Year conferred by the Nigeria Media Nite-Out Award (NMNA) in 2021.
In August 2023, Matawalle was given a Ministers appointment as the Minister of state for Defence by president Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
