The Ondo State Governor, Mr Rotimi Akeredolu, on Thursday, came hard on the Muhammadu Buhari-led Federal Government over the controversial new naira policy, saying it was targeted at frustrating Saturday presidential and National Assembly elections.
This was as the Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, bemoaned the poor implementation of the naira redesign policy, saying it had foisted needless hardship on Nigerians.
Akeredolu, who spoke during a state broadcast aired on electronic media outlets in Ondo State on Thursday morning, alleged that the naira crisis and fuel scarcity were targeted at frustrating the presidential bid of the All Progressives Congress candidate, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu.
According to him, the cash swap policy of the APC-led government and the alleged artificial scarcity of fuel “are both lethal injections deliberately administered to de-market the APC government, create an uncontrollable crisis in the nation, and finally frustrate the 2023 general elections.”
He said, “It is also an attempt to abuse the principle of rotational presidency by denying a section of this country its legitimate right, thereby fuelling ethnic disaffection and creating a grave constitutional crisis in the country.
“The central purpose of the naira swap policy is to frustrate his (Tinubu) popularity and renowned acceptability across all tribes and religions in this country. The goal is to truncate the election and deny the country the service of a true patriot, an endowed visionary with a proven record of character, knowledge, leadership, and performance.”
Akeredolu, however, called on the people of Ondo to vote for Tinubu, assuring them that if elected, he would tackle many challenges facing the country and the state in particular.
Similarly, the Senate President, in a statement on Thursday, said he empathised with Nigerians over the difficulty being experienced as a result of the naira scarcity.
He, however, urged them to vote for the APC and its presidential flag-bearer, Tinubu, on Saturday.
Lawan said, “The All Progressives Congress has vigorously campaigned in all the states of the federation and Abuja to explain why Nigerians should again vote for our party and candidates. The past years under our government since 2015 have recorded some gains in the face of enormous challenges.
But reacting to Akeredolu’s broadcast, the Ondo State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party, said it was an admission of the ruling APC’s failure.
The PDP Publicity Secretary in Ondo, Kennedy Peretei, said this in a statement titled, ‘Akeredolu’s state broadcast is a confirmation that his party, the APC, has failed Nigerians.’
The opposition party said, “The empty broadcast, full of lamentations, failed in his attempt to dissociate APC candidates from the present gloom into which APC has sunk Nigeria. From the confessions of APC key players, it is clear that a vote for any APC candidate in the forthcoming elections is a continuation of the present situation.”
Urging people not to elect the APC, the opposition party said, “The affliction called APC shall not rise again in our land. The final burial rites will be performed in the next two days.”
