Governor Dauda Lawal of Zamfara State said that his predecessor, Dr. Bello Matawalle, left the state in a financial mess, saying he inherited only N4 million and a series of liabilities when he assumed office.

Speaking on AriseTv, Lawal revealed that security, education, and health sectors were close to nonexistent when he took over office, adding that he had to declare a state of emergency in the sectors.

Lawal added that Zamfara was in a state of bankruptcy when he took over from Matawalle, with all sorts of liabilities from backlogs of unpaid salaries spanning four and half months. He revealed that WAEC and the Juciary were owed N1.6 billion and N1.6 billion, respectively, while NECO was also owed N4 billion.

”There was nothing in our treasury when I took over. I only inherited 4m with all sorts of liabilities ranging from a backlog of salaries and other challenges that I had to face head-on. The first thing I did was to clear the backlog of salaries,” he said.

He added that civil servants were living from hand to mouth, and he had to increase their wage to the minimum wage N70,000 and pay pensions to the tune of N16.5 billion. (edited)