The Zamfara State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party has opposed Governor Bello Matawalle’s directive to the people of the state to bear arms and defend themselves.

Secretary of the PDP in the state, Faruku Ahmed, said in a statement that the decision to allow people to bear arms could lead to anarchy and political vendetta against the opposition parties.

“As peace-loving and law-abiding citizens, we fault Zamfara State and the Federal Government for shifting such constitutional responsibility to ordinary citizens,” he said.

“That it has been clear that the security agencies, groups and legal experts within and outside the state have opposed the firearms acquisition.”

Ahmed, it is the sole responsibility of both the state and federal governments to protect the lives and property of the citizenry.

Rather than encourage residents to bear arms, he said the party had advised the state government to recruit community protection guards similar to JTF.

“We hoped they will be well equipped, remunerated,” he said, adding that the recommendation was a better option than decided to “mention to tools to harm political oppositions in the state”.

The PDP blamed the gun ownership controversy on the All Progressives Congress, accusing the party of giving the governor an opportunity to target opposition parties in the state.