The development is coming in the wake of the growing friction and cold war between the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), and some aggrieved governors over the naira redesign policy that has subjected a number of Nigerians to untold hardship in the last three weeks.
The PUNCH also reported how a pocket of violent protests, bank vandalisation and killings took place in several states, notably in Lagos, Rivers, Ogun and Edo states.
The lingering cash squeeze policy of the Central Bank of Nigeria was further worsened following the declaration by the president that the CBN should allow only the old N200 to co-exist with the new naira notes.
Hours after the president’s broadcast, Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State had addressed Kaduna residents, saying the former military Head of State was wrong on his directive to recirculate only the old N200 banknotes as part of measures to curb the cash crunch in the country.
El-Rufai, who said the old N1,000 and N500 were still legal tender in his state, did not mince words when he stated that the aim of the naira redesign was to scuttle the general election and give room for an interim government.
The PUNCH also reported that El Rufai and two other APC governors from Kogi and Zamfara states sued the Federal Government seeking a restraining order to stop the full implementation of the naira redesign policy of the CBN.
But the Supreme Court adjourned the hearing until February 22.
The friction between the governors and the president reached an unprecedented height on Friday when the APC Presidential Campaign Council was compelled to release a statement to debunk claim that its presidential candidate, Bola Tinubu, asked some APC governors to disregard the directive of the president.
While stating that it is fake news being peddled by an online platform, the Director of Media and Publicity for the APC PCC, Bayo Onanuga, noted that the alleged information did not emanate from the PCC Adviser on Media and Communications, Mr Dele Alake, as being alleged.
Hours after the PCC statement, the ruling party through its National Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka, announced that the APC national chairman would meet officially with all the APC governors.
Although Morka did not state the agenda for the meeting, sources noted that it had a lot to do with the division and cold war going in the ruling party.
The statement read, “The National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), His Excellency, Senator Abdullahi Adamu, invites State Governors of the Party to an emergency meeting to be held on Sunday, February 19, 2023 by 2pm at the National Secretariat, Abuja.”
