Victor Ezeja
The presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has alleged that the current fuel Scarcity, and naira redesign policy introduced by the Central Bank of Nigeria are all plans to block his chances of winning the election.
Tinubu made the assertion on Wednesday during the APC presidential campaign at the MKO Abiola stadium, in Abeokuta, Ogun State.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelHe said: “They have started coming up with the issue of ‘no fuel’. Don’t worry, if there is no fuel, we will trek to cast the vote.
“If you like increase price of fuel, hide the fuel or change the ink on the naira notes, we will win the election.
“They don’t want this election to hold. They want to sabotage it. Will you allow them?”, Tinubu asked the supporters.
The APC presidential flag bearer said that despite the challenges, the party will win the election while the opposition will fail.
In a tweet on Wednesday evening, former Minister of Aviation, Femi Fani Kayode, echoed Tinubu’s comment saying: “Whatever your plans are to scuttle this election, whether through new naira notes, fuel scarcity or creating an atmosphere of fear & panic, you shall fail.
“The cat is out of the bag. We know the plan. We know who you are using. We know who is behind it. We know what to do.”
The CBN introduced the naira redesign policy on 26th October and subsequently launched new notes of higher currency denominations (₦200, ₦500 and ₦1,000) in November. The apex bank released the new notes into circulation on 15th December 2022 and announced that the old banknotes will cease to be legal tender by 31st January 2023 which is three months period.
Despite the pressure for extension of the deadline, by the National Assembly, Nigerian Governors’ Forum, among others, the CBN has insisted, saying January 31 is sacrosanct.
President, Muhammadu Buhari had in a media chat, said he gave the CBN full support to go ahead with the policy and maintained that three months was enough time for Nigerians no matter the amount of cash in their possession, to deposit them in commercial banks.
Buhari said the currency redesign has a lot of benefits to the economy.
On the election, the president said nobody will be allowed to mobilise resources and thugs to intimidate Nigerians at polling units on election days.
He added that the electorate will be allowed to freely vote any party or candidate they want.
Buhari had at different fora, stated that his quest was to bequeath a legacy of free, fair, transparent and credible electoral system in the country.
Victor Ezeja is a passionate journalist with seven years of experience writing on economy, politics and energy. He holds a Master's degree in Mass Communication.
