Says Buhari’s policies are to sabotage his victory
The presidential candidate of the All Progressive Congress (APC), Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu has raised the alarm that the recently approved currency redesigned policy of President Muhammadu Buhari is one of the many plots designed to scuttle his chances at the February 25 presidential poll.
Tinubu raised the alarm while addressing party faithful at his presidential rally hosted in Abeokuta, Ogun state on Wednesday. Both President Buhari and Tinubu belong to the ruling APC and have been seen campaigning together in a number of states in northern Nigeria in recent days.
According to Tinubu, just as the Naira redesign, the current scarcity of fuel being experienced in the country is also part of the plan to sabotage the election and by extension his victory at the poll.
“They don’t want this election to hold. They want to sabotage it (elections)… We will use PVC to take over the government from them. ..Even if they said there is no fuel, we will trek to vote. They have a lot of mischief; they could say there is no fuel. They have been scheming to create a fuel crisis, but forget about it.
“Let them increase the price of fuel, only they know where they have hoarded fuel, they hoarded money, they hoarded naira; we will go and vote and we will win. Even if they changed the ink on Naira notes. Whatever their plans, it will come to nought. We are going to win,” the APC presidential candidate said disappointedly.
Tinubu’s unusual outburst at Buhari’s disposition to his presidential aspiration is the second of its type in recent months. While meeting with the party’s delegate ahead of the presidential primary last year, Mr Tinubu had similarly railed at Mr Buhari’s perceived lethargy to his aspiration. He recalled how the President had failed in three previous attempts to be President until he worked with him (Tinubu) in 2015 to emerge as President. Speaking in his native Yoruba language, Tinubu said Emilokan, meaning – it is his turn to be Nigeria’s President.
In recent months, there has been a backlash, majorly from supporters of Mr Tinubu, insinuating that the announced redesign of the currency is aimed at short-changing his chances at the poll. The position of many of his supporters was that knowing very well that politicians expend lots of money to buy votes during election and with the fact that Mr Tinubu with his deep pocket and those of his allies would have stock up load of money to prosecute the election, the CBN should have just waited till after the election. But a sudden change of the currency ink will no doubt affect the vote-buying plan.
Although the presidential candidate has not taken any position on this until now, many observers will agree that the policy truly must have hit Mr Tinubu badly, hence his lamentation of how the election is about to be sabotaged because of currency change.
