Atiku under attack for opposing extension of February 10 deadline by Arewa Youths
The Arewa Youth Consultative Forum (AYCF) yesterday asked the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, to stop playing politics with the new Naira policy and the challenges Nigerians face in accessing the new notes.
In a similar diatribe, Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike yesterday called for the rejection of any candidate in the coming elections supporting the economic crisis caused by the shoddy implementation of the naira redesign.
Alhaji Yerima Shettima, the National President of the AYCF, in a statement in Lagos, deplored Atiku’s comments that the CBN should not grant further extension of the deadline for the naira swap.
Shettima said that it was wrong of the PDP to oppose the opinion of many Nigerians, including the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar, National Assembly and others, in favour of further extension of the deadline on old notes by the CBN.
He said: “Former VP Atiku’s call was out of place because it is coming on the heels of growing complaint about the kind of sabotage that is causing untold hardship to Nigerians over this policy.
“Atiku stands alone in his call on the CBN not to review the deadline.
“He is against prominent Nigerians who made passionate appeal for deadline review, notably the sultan of Sokoto, the Senate and House of Representatives leaders and experts.
“What purpose will the current difficulties people are facing serve Atiku? Why would he rather identify with the need to let the difficulties faced by especially rural folks continue and for how long?”
Shettima said that the group was in support of extension of deadline for the cash swap policy due to difficulties citizens were currently experiencing.
“We are of course aware that the economy has suffered heavy avoidable bruises,” he said.
According to him, it will be suicidal for this nation to consider any advice against a review of the CBN cash swap deadline.
He said that for any policy to succeed, it must have a human face, “and we believe the CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, won’t turn against overwhelming public interest”.
The AYCF boss advised PDP not to turn the policy “into a weapon of political manipulation or political attention-seeking opportunity.
“We advise the ex-VP to concentrate on his presidential campaigns by showcasing what he has done to merit the votes of Nigerians and stop playing politics with our economic policies and associated challenges.
“We thought the ex-VP would tell Nigerians what he has to offer in fighting inflation and weak national currency,” he added.
Reject candidate in support of Naira redesign policy execution, says Wike
In a veiled reference to the Atiku statement, Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike yesterday called for the rejection of any candidate in the coming elections supporting the economic crisis caused by the shoddy implementation of the naira redesign.
Wike said the electorate should vote against any such candidate.
The governor spoke during a campaign in the Opobo/Nkoro Local Government Area of the state.
He also warned the brains behind the alleged plot to scuttle the elections to desist, and said no to any form of interim government.
He said any candidate supporting the confusion caused by the poor implementation of the naira swap must be an enemy of Nigerians.
He wondered why any candidate should back a policy execution that has already plunged the people into inexplicable economic hardship on account of non-availability of the old and new naira notes.
Said he: “Anybody who claims he loves Nigeria and is contesting election but is supporting this CBN policy, will you people vote for such person?
“It is only the enemies of Nigeria that are supporting this anti-people policy. I believe President Muhammadu Buhari was not properly briefed about this policy.”
Continuing, he said: “The primary target of this policy is to provoke Nigerians to embark on civil disturbance, which they will capitalise on to say they cannot conduct election and push for enthronement of an interim government.
“No matter the provocation, I urge everyone to be calm. This election must hold because nothing will stop an Opobo man from becoming governor.”
Challenging a former Minister of Transport, Dr. Abiye Sekibo, on integrity, Wike urged the former minister to explain why former President Olusegun Obasanjo sacked him from his cabinet.
He said as a man of integrity, he served as a minister under President Goodluck Jonathan and resigned honourably to contest governorship election and won.
He described the PDP governorship candidate in the state, Sir Siminialayi Fubara, as dependable and loyal.
He enjoined Opobo people not to undermine their opportunity to produce the next governor of the state.
Sir Siminialayi Fubara restated his promise that he would never betray the confidence reposed in him to fly the party’s gubernatorial flag.
In his speech, Senator Adawari Pepple expressed gratitude to Governor Wike for deeming it necessary to support their son to become the PDP flag bearer for governorship.
The APC Presidential Campaign Council (APC PCC) had earlier branded Atiku Nigeria’s public enemy number one over his position on further extension of the February10 deadline.
The APC-PCC said in a statement on Friday by its Director of Media and Publicity, Mr.Bayo Onanuga, that the former vice president was working hand in hand with saboteurs and fifth columnists among the operators of Money Deposit Banks and oil marketers to inflict avoidable hardship on innocent Nigerians.
Onanuga said: “The current sabotage of the naira notes swap and fuel scarcity that have caused untold hardship to millions of Nigerians across the country revealed the true character of Peoples Democratic Party Presidential Candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar as public enemy number one.
“Nigerians will recall that since the Central Bank introduced its current cash-limit and new naira notes swap policies, Atiku Abubakar and PDP maintained opportunistic silence with the hope that they will benefit from the discomfort the policies will create for Nigerians and the resentment they will generate for the ruling APC.
“While Atiku and PDP were in bed with the saboteurs and fifth columnists among the operators of Money Deposit Banks and oil marketers who created the current logjam to force the outcome of the February 25 presidential election in favour of the former Vice President, our candidate Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu courageously pitched his tent with the poor masses who have been most negatively impacted by the antics of these evil doers.
“Having realised they have lost the initiative and their antics exposed to Nigerians by Asiwaju Tinubu at the APC Presidential Campaign rally in Abeokuta, Atiku made a half-hearted appeal to CBN to ‘slightly’ extend the deadline for the currency swap.”
The campaign council however wondered why the PDP flag bearer called on the apex bank not to extend the February 10 deadline in the face of the hardship being suffered by the people.
“We are currently at a loss to understand what informed the current call of Atiku on CBN not to extend the February 10 deadline despite the unmitigated hardship still being faced by many Nigerians who could not meet their basic daily needs as a result of lack of cash from banks and the empty ATM machines.
“Anyone who lives in Nigeria and not Dubai and visits banks and ATM locations will feel sad that the CBN is making our people suffer for its badly timed Naira swap policy.
“The bank’s latest fire brigade approach in approving payment of N20,000 at the counter is far from offering relief as queues are still long, agony and frustrations widening, an invitation to riots.
“This poorly implemented policy has turned Nigerians into destitute because they cannot access their own money in their bank accounts.
“People cannot get money to give their kids to school or pay for daily needs at corner shops, fruit shops, including buying newspapers. Transactions in market places have plummeted.”
The APC-PCC recalled the statement made by CBN Governor Godwin Emefiele last weekend in Daura, Katsina State, that out of the N3.3 trillion in circulation, only N500 billion is in the bank vaults, and added: “So far only N1.9trillion had been received by the banks for swap.
“But people are not getting the new notes to spend, thus triggering the huge anger in the land against Emefiele.
“We thus find it ludicrous that a man who joined the call for an extension of the deadline last week is championing a new campaign against further extension because he feels the suffering of Nigerians will serve his own political end to become president at all cost.
“Atiku said callously: ‘There should be no further postponement of the new naira regime after the expiration of the February 10 deadline.’
“Anchoring his objection on the wrong reason, he said further: ‘The CBN and the Presidency should be steadfast. The merits of the new naira policy far outweigh the little inconvenience we are experiencing.’
“In passing off the suffering of our people as ‘little inconvenience’, Atiku only comes across as a political leader disconnected from the Nigerian people that he is campaigning to govern. Certainly, living comfortably in Dubai for many years has drained Atiku of all empathy.
“This is a man who wants to be President and does not mind even if he presides over the graves of Nigerians as long as his inordinate ambition materializes in line with the prophecy of his marabouts.
“It is crystal clear to every Nigerian of conscience now that Atiku Abubakar and PDP do not mean well for our country.
“PDP and Atiku have become desperadoes who will wish calamity on the country as long as it makes them win an election they are destined to lose spectacularly.
“Atiku is now public enemy number one in Nigeria. He is evil personified and must be rejected at the polls on 25 February.
“If Atiku Abubakar has the poor people of our country at heart like Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, the PDP candidate will not be advocating for adherence to a policy that has become a burden too heavy to bear for our people.”
(TNT)
