VIEW FROM ZAMFARA DEPUTY GOVERNOR

C O N F I D E N T I A L ABUJA 000267

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/08/2017
TAGS: PGOV NI
SUBJECT: VIEW FROM ZAMFARA DEPUTY GOVERNOR


Classified By: Ambassador John Campbell for Reasons 1.4 (b & d).


1. (C) SUMMARY: Zamfara State Deputy Governor Mahmud Aliyu
Shinkafi, also the current ANPP gubernatorial candidate for
Zamfara State, met with the Ambassador on February 5 at his
Gusau residence. Shinkafi, speaking before State
Commissioners and media, used the opportunity to highlight
improvements made to the education, health, and agriculture
sectors and showcased his Mahmud Foundation's efforts to
provide micro-credit loans, technical training, and
healthcare subsidies. Shinkafi opined about Zamfara State
Governor Ahmed Sani Yerima's support for General Buhari's
presidential campaign and discussed his own gubernatorial
aspirations. END SUMMARY.


2. (C) Deputy Governor Shinkafi used the meeting to
underscore the achievements made to the education, health,
and agriculture sectors in Zamfara State. Shinkafi
emphasized that through his personal initiative, the Mahmud
Foundation, substantial gains had been made to the
agriculture development of Zamfara State. By providing
micro-credit loans to consortiums of farmers, Shinkafi
claimed that he was aiding in employment creation, technical
training, and sustainability and that the State's annual
budget had committed significant funds to reforming land
tenure and resource allocation. He solicited increased USG
assistance in the cultivation of local crops, particularly
kasava. Shinkafi added that he had privately subsidized
treatment for 600 patients in Zamfara State. He dismissed
criticism of the poor condition of Zamfara's roads, blaming
the PDP for "locking Zamfara out from federal funds."


3. (C) When asked about Zamfara State Governor Ahmed Sani
Yerima's recent pledge to campaign for ANPP presidential
aspirant General Muhammadu Buhari in the North West, Shinkafi
stated that "pressure was put on Yerima" to concede to
Buhari's selection and that support for him, at this stage,
was merely indicative of Buhari's popularity in Zamfara and
his ability to win in the North overall. Riding the
coattails of a Buhari victory, he added, couldn't hurt his
own gubernatorial aspirations. Shinkafi claimed that he
enjoys 100% popularity in the State, having been groomed and
pushed forward by Governor Yerima. He also revealed that 500
former PDP Zamfara State elders decamped recently to the
ANPP.


4. (C) COMMENT: Zamfara State, cleaved out of the larger
Sokoto State in 1996 by General Sani Abacha, is considered
one of the poorest states in the Nigerian Federation.
Despite an estimated annual budget of 50 billion Naira,
Zamfara State has few roads, schools, hospitals, or
industries. Fewer than 2% of its estimated 3,000,000
residents can access potable water or the State's meager
power supply. Over 80% of Zamfara residents rely on
small-scale agriculture, though such a livelihood is greatly
limited and imperiled by desertification and mismanagement of
resources.


5. (C) COMMENT CONT'D: Deputy Governor Mahmud Shinkafi
appears confident and poised to assume the governorship in
May, claiming support from both Governor Yerima and the
general populace of Zamfara State. END COMMENT.
CAMPBELL