Bello Matawalle | |
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Minister of Defence | |
Assumed office 21 August 2023 | |
President | Bola Tinubu |
Minister | Mohammed Badaru Abubakar |
Preceded by | Olusola Obada (2012) |
5th Governor of Zamfara State | |
In office 29 May 2019 – 29 May 2023 | |
Deputy |
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Preceded by | Abdul'aziz Abubakar Yari |
Succeeded by | Dauda Lawal |
Personal details | |
Born | Bello Muhammad 12 February 1969 Maradun, North-Western State (now in Zamfara State), Nigeria |
Political party | All Progressives Congress (2021–present) |
Other political affiliations |
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Spouses |
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Alma mater | |
Occupation |
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Bello Muhammad popularly known as Bello Matawalle (born 12 February 1969) is a Nigerian politician and teacher who has served as the minister of state for defence since 2023. He previously served as the governor of Zamfara State from 2019 to 2023.[1][2]
After briefly serving in the Abacha-era state house of assembly and serving as a state commissioner from 1999 to 2003 in the Ahmad Sani Yerima administration in the Fourth Republic, he first won an elected office in 2003 as a member of the House of Representatives for Bakura/Maradun and retained the office until 2015 first as a member of the All Nigeria Peoples Party before switching to the People's Democratic Party in 2011. Four years after losing his Bakura/Maradun Constituency seat in 2015, Matawalle became the 2019 PDP gubernatorial nominee and won the office after a Supreme Court ruling disqualified the original winner. In 2021, he defected from the PDP to the All Progressives Congress after a defection rally in Gusau alongside most Zamfara State elected officials.