APC, Atiku’s trading assistant blames naira scarcity

The Presidential Campaign Council of the All Progressives Congress has labeled the former vice president and presidential candidate of the People’s Democratic Party as Nigeria’s number one public enemy.

The campaign council, in a statement from Media and Publicity Director Bayo Onanuga, took issue with its argument over what it called Atiku’s romance with saboteurs responsible for the naira and fuel scarcity across the country.

The statement read in part: “The current sabotage of the naira banknote exchange and fuel scarcity that has caused untold hardship to millions of Nigerians across the country revealed the true character of the PDP presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, as public enemy number one.

“Nigerians will remember that ever since the Central Bank introduced its current cash limit and new naira exchange policy, Atiku Abubakar and the PDP remained opportunistically silent in the hope that they would take advantage of the inconvenience the policy would bring. cause for Nigerians and the resentment they would cause. would generate for the prevailing APC.

“While Atiku and PDP were in bed with the saboteurs and fifth columnists among the money deposit bank operators and oil salesmen who caused the current standoff to force the outcome of the February 25 presidential election in favor of the former vice president, our candidate Asiwaju Bola Tinubu courageously pitched his tent with the poor masses most adversely affected by the antics of these evildoers.

“Realizing that they have lost the initiative and their antics displayed to Nigerians by Asiwaju Tinubu at the APC presidential campaign rally in Abeokuta, Atiku issued a half-hearted appeal to CBN to extend the deadline for the currency swap ‘somewhat’ extend.

“We cannot currently understand what Atiku’s current appeal has informed CBN not to extend the February 10 deadline despite the outright hardships still faced by many Nigerians who have been unable to meet their basic daily needs due to lack of cash. of banks and the empty ATMs.”

In a veiled dig at the former vice president, Onanuga added that “anyone living in Nigeria who is not in Dubai and frequents banks and ATMs will be sad that the CBN is making our people suffer because of its ill-timed naira swap policy.”

The campaign council turned its attention to Godwin Emefiele, recalling that the “CBN governor provided insight into the nature of the problem when he revealed in Daura last Sunday that of the N3.3tn in circulation, only N500bn is in bank vaults. So far only N1.9tn has been received by the banks for swap.

“But people are not getting the new banknotes to spend, causing the huge anger in the country against Emefiele. We therefore find it ridiculous that a man who joined the call for extension of the deadline last week is advocating a new campaign against any further extension, because he thinks the suffering of Nigerians will serve his own political purpose at all costs. costs to become president. statement noted.

“This is a man who wants to be president and would not mind presiding over the graves of Nigerians as long as his outrageous ambition materializes in line with the prophecy of his marabouts.

“It is crystal clear to any conscientious Nigerian that Atiku Abubakar and PDP mean no good to our country. PDP and Atiku have become desperados wishing the country disaster as long as it wins elections that they will lose spectacularly.

“Atiku is now public enemy number one in Nigeria and must be rejected in the polls on February 25. If Atiku Abubakar has a warm heart for the poor people of our country, like Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, the PDP candidate will not advocate compliance with a policy that has become too much of a burden for our people.”

Phrank Shaibu, Atiku Abubakar’s special assistant for public communications, responded to APC presidential campaign spokesman Bayo Onanuga for accusing Atiku of being the mastermind behind the naira shortage and gasoline scarcity, saying that Onanuga was too shy to the president, Major General Muhammadu Buhari, to say (retd.), was the Minister of Petroleum and was also the one who approved the naira redesign policy of the CBN.

He added that the spokesman had made himself the official interpreter of Tinubu, who he said misfired in his speech.

Shaibu also stated that the APC spokesman had the rare ability to clarify the gibberish his director usually uttered, showing that he had a creative imagination.

Meanwhile, the director general of the People’s Democratic Party presidential campaign council in Rivers state, Dr. Abiye Sekibo, has dismissed claims in some quarters that Atiku Abubakar is an enemy of the state.

He also lamented that members loyal to the PDP PCC had fallen victim to the Nyesom Wike-led government in the state.

Sekibo spoke in an Arise Television interview on Friday, followed by our correspondent.

Sekibo said Atiku had greatly contributed to the state’s economic prosperity, even though he stressed that the PDP PCC was not involved in any violence.

He noted that Atiku was a citizen of the state because he had contributed to the economic well-being of the state before running for office.

“The real PDP in Rivers State are the supporters of Atiku Abubakar, and those who say there is complicity with the APC are the ones who are actually conspiring with the APC.

“There has been no incident of violence by supporters of Atiku Abubakar against anyone, both within the PDP and outside the PDP.

“But the Atiku supporters have suffered; they were beaten, shot at, our offices were closed, property was withdrawn, the land issue was withdrawn.

“Well, who does that? Is it those who control the government or those outside the government? In Rivers State, not all Atiku supporters are in the Rivers State Government. So they don’t have the power to hand out any form of protection to anyone.”

But state Information and Communications Commissioner Chris Finebone rejected Sekibo’s claim, saying Atiku’s supporters were unknown in the state.

He said, “Governor of Rivers State victimizing Atiku supporters in Rivers State? First of all, who are Atiku supporters in Rivers State?

“We don’t even know of any Atiku supporters in Rivers State, aside from a few former Atiku business associates who are struggling to revive their business partnership under the guise of politics. But no one victimizes them. No one is interested in their private affairs with Atiku. It is far from it.”