The Kebbi State Government has launched a blistering attack on former Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, over his reported entry into the 2027 governorship race, describing him as “a wolf in sheep’s wool” and a key contributor to the crises facing both Kebbi State and Nigeria.
In a lengthy statement issued on Sunday by the Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to Governor Nasir Idris, Yahaya Sarki, the state government accused Malami of attempting to distance himself from the hardship, insecurity and governance failures that allegedly worsened during his time in office under former President Muhammadu Buhari.
Malami had reportedly justified his decision to seek the governorship ticket of the African Democratic Congress by citing insecurity, poverty, educational decline and economic hardship in Kebbi State.
But the state government dismissed his claims as hypocritical, arguing that people like Malami, who occupied powerful positions in Abuja until 2023, were directly responsible for many of the challenges currently confronting the country.
“The insecurity, poverty, educational collapse and economic hardship which Malami gleefully cited as his reasons for joining the race became deeply entrenched largely as a result of mismanagement and misguided priorities by individuals like him,” the statement said.
The government further alleged that many officials who served in the Buhari administration exploited public trust for personal enrichment, claiming that several individuals who previously “lived in want suddenly emerged as billionaires” without any verifiable business background.
According to the statement, Kebbi State under Governor Idris inherited a battered system plagued by infrastructural decay, poor healthcare, insecurity and economic hardship, all of which the current administration is now striving to reverse.
Defending the performance of the Idris administration, the government listed several achievements in education and healthcare, including the construction of thousands of classrooms, recruitment of 2,000 teachers and rehabilitation of hospitals across the state.
It also highlighted ongoing upgrades at Sir Yahaya Memorial Hospital as evidence of what it described as a “massive transformation” in the health sector.
On insecurity, the government accused Malami of remaining largely silent while banditry and terrorism escalated during his tenure as the nation’s chief law officer.
“Under his watch as Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, criminality flourished, banditry and terrorism metastasised, and Nigeria’s security situation sank to infamous depths,” the statement added.
The Kebbi government insisted that Malami lacked the moral authority to campaign on the basis of reform and accountability, arguing that those who contributed to Nigeria’s governance failures could not now present themselves as saviours.
“People like Malami should, in saner climes, be in jail for their wanton self-centeredness which had imperiled lives, created social chaos and disorder,” the statement declared.
Despite the harsh criticism, the government said it recognised Malami’s constitutional right to contest the governorship election, though it described his ambition as having only “nuisance value.”
