Tobias Sylvester
Kano State Governor, Abdullahi Ganduje has attacked President Muhammadu Buhari over the lingering naira crisis in the country.
In a televised discussion on Thursday, Ganduje accused Buhari of plotting to ruin the All Progressive Congress (APC) before leaving office in May 2023 despite achieving nothing throughout his eight years in power.
The governor, who spoke in Hausa language, wondered why the president and the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele did not think of the naira notes swap policy seven years ago and why it had to be on the eve of an election.
He reminded the people how Buhari had failed in his three previous attempts before 2015 when political parties merged to form APC and dislodge the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) from office.
Ganduje further stated that Buhari has had no tangible achievements to point out throughout his stay in office but had instead decided to pay those that supported him by destroying the party that brought him to power.
“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 said.
“In the first term, nothing of great importance can point out as his achievement, same as in his second term. So, why is he bringing out all these policies now? why not seven years ago? He just wants to collapse the party that produced him.
“How could care for Nigerians and then propose such a policy as the naira redesign? Why not seven years ago or after the election? This shows he is not a good leader; if he is, he would not remain calm seeing people setting properties on fire out of frustration.
“This is why we went to the court and stand against them because we know that their motive is to prevent free and fair elections. By God’s grace, all of their efforts will be in vain because we will reverse all these policies as soon as we win the election.”
Ganduje also questioned why Buhari needed seven days to make a decision on the policy the World Bank and the International Monetary Funds had faulted.
He maintained that the Supreme Court recognized the old naira banknotes as legal tender, saying he would revoke the certificate of any bank in Kano that rejects them.
“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 close 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 Buhari’s “anti-democracy policies” would affect the electoral fortunes of the APC, but the party’s presidential candidate, Bola 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,” he said, adding that these people will be puppeteer to ensure only the candidate of their choice emerges victorious.
Meanhwile, President Muhammadu Buhari has announced that only the old N200 note would be recirculated until April 10 while the old N1,000 and N500 notes have ceased to be legal tender since February 10, 2023.
