Stephen Ukandu, Umuahia
Like Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State, his Kano State counterpart, Abdullahi Ganduje, has accused President Muhammadu Buhari of fighting hard to destroy the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, that brought him to power.
The duo until now were among the President’s henchmen but they have been critical of the President over the Naira re-design policy of the Central Bank.
Ganduje took Buhari to the cleaners when he received in audience the forum of former parliamentarians from North-West zone in Kano during the week.
He regretted that after APC supported Buhari to become President after his various unsuccessful attempts, the President is reciprocating the gesture by working against the party.
Ganduje accused Buhari of not working for the success of the APC in the forthcoming polls, an attitude he said, amounted to paying back the party with the wrong coin.
“Imagine someone has been contesting without winning elections until after a merger was formed. He won the election and spent four years and re-contested again and he won, now that he is about to go, he is doing nothing but to destroy the party that elected him,” Ganduje lamented.
He insisted that the naira re-design policy had political undertones otherwise the President should have embarked on the project since seven years he came to power.
“What is wrong with doing it after elections? Why hasn’t he done this in the past seven years? What is the meaning of all these? This CBN governor is not a politician; he doesn’t know anything about politics.
“How can a politician enjoy this policy? Imagine how as a leader you watch banks engulfed by fire, if not that the democracy has decayed, will that be possible?
“How is it possible when the World Bank said the policy is wrong, the IMF said it is wrong, other leaders said it is wrong, but you said you need seven days to think over it? The poor man selling vegetables will have his goods rotten (before the end of the thinking period), that is why I closed down one supermarket for rejecting the old notes. The Supreme Court has said the old notes are still a legal tender, that is why any bank that refuses to collect, I will revoke their certificate and if they do that, they cannot work,” he said.
Ganduje also stated that Tinubu would revoke the policy after the election. He said the policy was not that of the ruling party but they are aware this is part of the plot to ensure elections do not hold, saying the development is similar to how MKO Abiola was denied of being president.
“It was like this at the time of SDP with the Association of Better Nigeria (ABN); the CBN governor is the ABN of this dispensation.
“Therefore, this is even beyond not wanting someone to win the election; it is democracy itself they don’t want. They want to set up an interim government committee like that of (Ernest) Shonekan.
“Which credible politician do you think they can put to head such a committee? Except you just bring people that do not represent the masses but their families, those are the ones you can bring to form interim government.”
In his remark, Convener of the former parliamentarian forum, Alhaji Adamu Panda, expressed support for power rotation between the North and the South.
He said the North backing any other presidential candidate except Ahmed Tinubu of the APC, could jeopardise the budding relationship between the North and the South.
According to him if the North dumps Tinubu for another candidate, the South West could seek alliance elsewhere.
Ikengaonline had reported that El-Rufai had also faulted Buhari’s position on the naira re-design policy, accusing him of using the policy to ignite crisis in the country to pave the way for Interim National Government.
He also accused the Attorney General of the Federation, and certain cabal in Aso Rock of misleading the President.
El-Rufai had compelled residents of Kaduna to still accept the old N500 and N1000 notes as legal tender contrary to the CBN and Mr President’s directive.
Similarly, Ganduje had threatened to shut down any shop in Kano that rejected the old currency notes.
