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Lawal administration also secured an international loan amounting to N6.8 billion, listed under “International Loans/Borrowings from Capital Market.”
Zamfara State Governor Dauda Lawal has been caught in a web of contradictions after claiming in a recent live television interview that his administration has not borrowed any money since assuming office in 2023.
However, official budget performance reports obtained by SaharaReporters tell a completely different story.
Governor Lawal, while speaking during a live interview on Channels Television on June 18, 2025, emphatically denied ever taking any loans as Zamfara governor.
He stated, “Let me make it categorically clear, I, Dauda Lawal, Governor of Zamfara State, have not borrowed a single kobo from any financial institution since assuming office. Today is June 18, 2025, and I remain financially okay.
“There’s nothing wrong with borrowing if you have projects to show for it. But I am against borrowing just to steal. As we speak, I’m still repaying debts from the previous administration. I can show you the documents—N1.5 billion in direct deductions, now reduced to N1.118 billion from the last FAAC allocation.”
But SaharaReporters has obtained budget performance documents from the state government which expose the governor’s statements as false.
According to the official records, during the fourth quarter of 2023 alone, the Zamfara State Government under Dauda Lawal secured a total of N27.2 billion in domestic loans. This includes N16.9 billion from financial institutions and another N10.3 billion classified as “borrowing from other government institutions.”
In addition, the fourth quarter report for 2024 shows that the Lawal administration also secured an international loan amounting to N6.8 billion, listed under “International Loans/Borrowings from Capital Market.”
These records bring the total amount of loans obtained by the Lawal administration within two years to N34 billion.
When SaharaReporters confronted the governor’s spokesperson, Mustafa Jafaru Kaura, he initially dismissed the reports and demanded proof.
Upon being presented with official documents detailing the loans, Kaura backtracked and redirected SaharaReporters to the Zamfara State Ministry of Finance for further clarification.
He provided the contact details of a ministry official identified as Abdulmalik Gajam.
However, all efforts to reach Gajam since Friday have been unsuccessful. His phone line has consistently returned a “User Busy” message, and he has not responded to follow-up text messages seeking his response to the revelations.
Meanwhile, in April, Governor Lawal revealed that his administration inherited a near-empty treasury, with only ₦4 million and overwhelming liabilities, upon taking office in May 2023.
Bello Muhammad popularly known as Bello Matawalle is the immediate former governor of the state. He was the governor of Zamfara State from 2019 to 2023.
Matawalle currently serves as the minister of state for defence in President Bola Tinubu’s administration.
Speaking during an interview posted by Arise News on Monday, Governor Lawal described Zamfara State as being in “total disarray” across all sectors—security, education, healthcare, and human development. This dire situation prompted him to declare a state of emergency in both education and healthcare.
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