By Halimah Olamide
Three governors of the All Progressive Congress on Friday led the party’s presidential candidate Bola Ahmed Tinubu to the Katsina home of President Muhammadu Buhari to resolve issues that are believed to have cropped up over Tinubu’s comments in Abeokua, the Ogun State capital during campaign.
Three Governors believed to have the ears of the president, Aminu Masari of Katsina, Babagana Zulum of Borno and Abubakar Bagudu of Kebbi State had led Tinubu to what a source said was a fence-mending meeting with the president.
Sources close to the Presidential Villa confided in the NPO Reports Friday night that Tinubu’s allegations that the new naira and the unending fuel scarcity were ploys to make the ruling APC unattractive to the Nigerian voters as they move closer to the 2023 general elections.
NPO Reported had quoted Tinubu as saying in Abeokuta, “We are going to reclaim our government by using PVC. We will trek to our rallies despite the fact that there is fuel scarcity in the country. We will trek to claim our mandate.
“They are using series of tricks just for our people not to vote. Forget it, we will vote and win this election. I, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu assured you of that. Fuel scarcity will disappear under my administration.
“Let the fuel scarcity continues, they know where they keep it. You keep money, fuel and other valuable things, we will vote and win. If you like, change the picture on Naira Notes. I will win.”
Many observers had concluded that Tinubu was indirectly indicting President Buhari and accusing him of plots to prevent his emergence as his successor.
But the APC presidential campaign council, via a statement by Bayo Onanuga, had refuted the claims.
Onanuga had said only the fifth columnist could make what he called dubious interpretation of what Tinubu said to his supporters.
He had said, “For the records, Asiwaju Tinubu during APC campaign rally at Abeokuta on Wednesday, in his statement, did not mention, blame or accuse President Muhammadu Buhari for the current challenges in the country.
“Asiwaju Tinubu was only adverting government’s attention to the sabotage being carried out by some Fifth Columnists in the system, possibly working in cahoots with the PDP,” the party said in a statement.
“The CBN officials, including Governor Godwin Emefiele have said many times that enough new Naira notes have been supplied to the banks, yet our people complain that they have not been able to get the new notes.”
Equally, Tinubu had in his follow up campaign in Benue made further clarifications where he accused the opposition Peoples Democratic Party of being behind the sabotage over fuel supplies in the country.
A litre of fuel is sold for as high is N500 in some parts of the country while some claims there are cases of up to N1000 per litre in some places. NPO Reports has not verified the claim of N1000 per litre.
It could not be ascertained if the team however met with Buhari who is in his home state to commission some projects.
It was gathered that the Abeokuta comments had created worries among close associates of the APC candidate who felt that the remarks were capable of fuelling further discontents within the ruling party and the campaign team for the APC to retain power after the next general elections.
The worries were said to have made them to convince Tinubu to seek audience with the President without wasting time to douse the tension.
The remarks, a source close to the campaigns told the NPO Reports, said the comments became more worrisome within the APC leadership realising that it was in the same Abeokuta that Tinubu made his now famous “Emi lokan” (its my turn) comment last year in the build up to the party’s primaries.
Tinubu had reminded Nigerians how he helped Buhari to become the president after three failed attempts.
Tinubu had said that after his third attempt, Buhari wept bitterly while saying it was over between him and presidential contests.
He said it was his encouragement that rebuilt Buhari’s confidence that eventually led to Buhari’s victory in 2015.