•Says Those Who Lost Presidential Primaries Behind Conspiracies
Governor of Kaduna State Nasir el-Rufai, Thursday said those who lost out in the presidential primaries of the All Progressive Congress are behind the series of alleged conspiracies meant to frustrate the victory of the party’s presidential candidate Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
In a state-wide broadcast in the state, the Governor said contrary to what President Muhammadu Buhari said in his nationwide address Thursday morning, N1000, N500 notes would remain legal tenders.
The President had in his broadcast approved an extension of the old N200 note as legal tender for another 60 days which is to co-exist with the new N1000 and N500.
The Governor said the fuel scarcity plus the Naira redesign are two ploys to ensure an uprising that might necessitate a state of emergency and an interim government.
He said, “It is important for the people of Kaduna State, and indeed Nigeria, to know that contrary to the public pronouncements and apparent good intentions, this policy was conceived and sold to the President by officials who completely lost out in the Gubernatorial and Presidential Primaries of the APC in June 2022.
“Once
Asiwaju Bola Tinubu emerged as the candidate in June 2022, and subsequently did not pick one of them as his running mate, this currency redesign policy was conceived to ensure that the APC presidential candidate is deprived of what they alleged is a humongous war chest. They also sought to achieve any one or more of following objectives:
a. Create a nationwide shortage of cash so that citizens are incited to vote against APC candidates across the board resulting in massive losses for the Party in all the elections;
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b. Ensure that the cash crunch is so serious, along with the contrived and enduring fuel shortage existing since September 2022, that the 2023 Elections do not hold at all, leading to an Interim National Government to be led by a retired Army General;
c. Sustain the climate of shortage of fuel, food and other necessities, leading to mass protests, violence and breakdown of law and order that would provide a fertile foundation for a military take-over;”
The Governor added that the
Central Bank of Nigeria and these other disgruntled Federal officials have so far convinced the President that it is fine for ordinary citizens to be dispossessed of their hard-earned money, and starved if need be, while small and medium-sized businesses are deprived of access to their capital, thereby bringing trade and exchange to a grinding halt. All our efforts to modify implementation of the policy to avoid what we assumed were unintended consequences were unsuccessful. I chose to speak out first as one person that has been particularly close to the President, believing that his actions were motivated by innocence, and mindful of his legacy. I have no regrets for doing my duty in this regard. One day, the President will appreciate what some of us are being insulted for today.
