Category: Lead

• Kaduna governor: naira redesign ill-timed, retaining subsidy payment shocking’
• Villa not aware, says Fed Govt
• APC PCC: Buhari backing Tinubu

There are powerful forces working against the political interests of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai alleged yesterday.

He claimed that certain unnamed individuals in the presidency do not want APC presidential standard bearer Asiwaju Bola Tinubu to win the February 25 poll.

Their grouse, he said, is that their preferred candidate did win the party’s primaries.

“I believe that there are elements in the Villa that want us to lose the elections because they didn’t get their way. 

“They had their candidate. Their candidate did not win the primary,” El-Rufai said on the Channels breakfast show Sunrise Daily.

The wife of President Muhammadu Buhari, Aisha, appeared to agree with the governor.

She uploaded a clip of El-Rufai’s interview on her Instagram account, captioning the post: “#longlivethefederalrepublicofnigeria”.

But, Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, said the Federal Government was not aware of saboteurs in the presidency.

The APC Presidential Campaign Council (APC PCC) said Tinubu retained President Buhari’s unalloyed support, insisting that his backing overrides any subversive elements in the Villa.

Also, the Kaduna governor said: “Let me assure you hundred per cent, the entire Northern governors of the APC are completely, wholeheartedly supporting the next president, Bola Tinubu.”

According to El-Rufai, those working against the APC were embittered by the fact that their favoured candidate did not emerge as the presidential flagbearer.

He said: “They had their candidate; their candidate didn’t win the primaries.

“I think they are still trying to get us to lose the elections and they are hiding behind the President’s desire to do what he thinks is right.”

The Kaduna governor cited the retention of the fuel subsidy and the naira redesign policy as instances of decisions taken without recourse to the party.

He said: “They are trying to get us to lose the election, and they are hiding behind the president’s desire to do what he thinks is right.

“I will give two examples: this petroleum subsidy, which is costing the country trillions of naira, was something that we all agreed would be removed.

“In fact, I had a discussion with the President and showed him why it had to go. 

“How can you have a capital budget of N200 billion for federal roads and then spend N2trillion on petroleum subsidy?

“This was a conversation I had with the President in 2021 when the subsidy thing started rising. He was convinced. We left. It changed. Everyone in the government agreed, and it changed.

“The second example I will give is this currency redesign. You have to understand the President. People are blaming the Governor of the Central Bank for the currency redesign, but No. 

“You have to go back and look at the first outing of Buhari as president. He did this.

“The Buhari/Idiagbon regime changed our currency and did it in secrecy with a view to catching those stashing away illicit funds.

“It’s a very good intention – very clear intention. The President’s heart is white.  

“But, doing it at this time, within the time allotted, just doesn’t make any political or economic sense.

“And for such a programme to work, we have to be involved as governors, as sub-nationals.”

The governor added: “We totally support the redesign of the Naira. We know that there are politicians who have stashes of money, but in the process, we must not make the ordinary people suffer or ignite the anger of voters and make it look as if it is our party’s policy. It is not. It is the policy of a few people.” 

El-Rufai emphasised that the APC did not promise to retain the petrol subsidy.

He thinks the President retained the subsidy because he believed its removal would adversely affect Nigerians.

“The problem is not the APC government but the people of Nigeria who are not willing to face the truth.

“People are paying N300 to N500 per litre in part of the country and they have to queue for hours to get this all because of this unsustainable and broken-down subsidy regime that we have chosen to maintain for the past 50 years. It has not worked.

“It is not an APC problem. It is a Nigerian problem because today if President Buhari says ‘remove subsidy’, the NLC (Nigeria Labour Congress) will be out on the street protesting. We have had that anytime the price slightly increases.

“It is a national conversation. The presidential candidates, including Atiku Abubakar, Peter Obi, and Bola Tinubu have said they will remove the fuel subsidies. 

“They have to, otherwise the country will go bankrupt. The next government must remove it otherwise the country will collapse.

“This fuel subsidy requires a national conversation. It is not a partisan thing. It has been going on for years. 

“We tried to solve it under the Buhari administration but we were sabotaged and we are where we are.

“To be honest, we have had the conversation at the level of the National Economic Council chaired by the Vice President and we all agreed it should go. 

“It was President Buhari himself who took the decision that this subsidy will hurt the poor and he won’t do it.

“That is why our presidential candidate in the same party is saying he will remove it. It is not a party position but the personal position of the president.

“We (APC) didn’t promise that we were going to keep the fuel subsidy or redesign the currency. It isn’t in our manifesto.

“You need to separate the personal decisions of some people in the villa from the manifesto of the party. It is important to understand that.”

The governor added: “The policy of currency redesign is the idea of few people in the Presidential Villa. APC never promised a naira redesign. 

“This is not the right time to embark on such an exercise because most areas in Nigeria have no banking facilities.

“I must say that the naira redesign and fuel scarcity are the handiwork of fifth columnists because they want to bring the country down.

“Otherwise, why must redesigning of naira be the priority of the Federal Government at this time?”

Fed Govt not aware of saboteurs in presidency 

Mohammed said the Federal Government was unaware of the “elements” working to sabotage the APC’s winning chances.

According to him, President Buhari was primarily concerned about guaranteeing a free and fair poll.

“This administration is focused and determined to ensure a free and fair election.

“In this administration, the most important person is Mr. President and I think he has shown by words and by deeds that he’s committed to a free, fair and credible election.

“Fair, free and credible election actually mean not favouring anybody or disadvantaging anybody.

“Everywhere he goes, he makes that very clear. Even as recently as Friday when he was in Daura, he said the same thing.

“So, if there’s anybody who’s working against any candidate, we don’t know officially,” the minister said.

El-Rufai stated the obvious, says APC PCC 

The APC PCC said while it was confident about President Buhari’s support, it was not surprising that some persons in his administration may not share his views.

The council’s Special Adviser on Media, Communications and Public Affairs, Dele Alake, maintained that El-Rufai was only stating the obvious.

To him, what mattered most to the campaign council and to the flagbearer was the “unambiguous support” of President Buhari, who he stressed held the aces in the Villa.

Alake told reporters: “As a campaign council, it is very simple. There’s really nothing spectacular about what El-Rufai has said. 

“It’s self-explanatory. He did say ‘some people’, but he never said ‘the President’.

“In any organisation, including your own individual media houses, you have editorial policies, and there are elements within your organisations that won’t agree with those policies. Yet, they still work there.

“It is, therefore, not a spectacular thing. It is merely a natural phenomenon. 

“In all organisations and institutions, you cannot have 100 per cent of the operatives see issues exactly the same way.

“However, it is the preponderance of views that matter. Now, in terms of the presidency, who is the power base? 

“Of course, it is the Commander-in-Chief. He holds all the aces. We do not expect that he would actually see all his staff eye to eye. But they’re still there.”

Tinubu had claimed during a rally in Ogun State that the lingering petrol scarcity and the naira scarcity were created by fifth columnists to turn Nigerians against the ruling party.

Cash-strapped Nigerians have been toiling to withdraw money from Automatic Teller Machines (ATMs) across the country.

Banks have stopped issuing the old notes, which will cease to be legal tender on February 10, but the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has said Nigerians would not lose money after the deadline.

Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu yesterday opened the 18.75km phase I Lekki-Epe Expressway.

The governor also kicked off construction of the second phase.

Phase I of the road starts from Eleko and terminates at Epe T-junction, while the second phase ends at Abraham Adesanya Roundabout, where the fourth Mainland Bridge will take off.

The construction feat marked a significant improvement in the effort to redevelop the two-lane rural roadway, built over 40 years ago, to a six-lane rigid concrete carriageway.

The 11km second phase will kick off at Ogidan to Abraham Adesanya Roundabout. It will be done in two segments for ease of funding and to reduce the traffic impact on commuters.

Governor Sanwo-Olu said the development marked another effort by his administration at investing in infrastructure that would impact positively on the socio-economic well-being of the residents. 

He said: “This project is coming 40 years after the infrastructure was originally constructed as a rural cross-section without drain. Our administration kicked off the reconstruction and upgrading of the Eti-Osa/Lekki-Epe Expressway from the existing two-lane to a three-lane dual carriageway, with a reinforced concrete pavement and with a lane in each direction dedicated for trucks to accommodate the envisaged axle loads. 

“This event does not only mark the opening of Phase 1 of the project, we are also kicking off construction of the Phase II. The entire project will set the Lekki-Epe corridor on the path of socio-economic prosperity and progress. This corridor is fast emerging as an urban economic hub. The growth must come with infrastructure investment that will support the development.

“The infrastructure will not only bring relief to residents plying the road, it will also ease the transportation of goods, while encouraging industrial development in the Lekki Free Zone.”

Sanwo-Olu urged residents to take ownership of the infrastructure, and protect its facilities from vandals in order to continue to serve them.

Special Adviser to the governor on Works and Infrastructure Aramide Adeyoye, an engineer, said the Eti-Osa/Lekki-Epe Expressway was long overdue for upgrading, given its deplorable condition that increased journey from 35 minutes to over four hours.

She said: “Reconstruction of the Lekki-Epe Expressway is an anticipation of the upsurge in average daily traffic volume, as activities ramp up at the Lekki Deep Sea Port, refinery and other businesses around the Lekki Free Trade Zone corridor.

“This road will impact positively on the lives of residents, eliminate gridlock, reduce the travel time of commuters, and businesses, as well as improve the socio-economic activities around the axis. I, therefore, implore us all as stakeholders to take ownership of it and be wary of vandals by carefully guarding it so it can continue to serve us as long as we so desire.” 

The governor and his team earlier attended the party’s campaign in Epe Division of the state, where he urged the people to vote for the APC so they could continue to enjoy the dividends of democracy.

He said: “I thank you all for coming out. All our leaders and candidates are here; make sure you vote them all. You would have seen all the developmental projects we have brought to Epe.”

Deputy Governor Obafemi Hamzat said: “Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu will emerge as the next President by the grace of God. As president, he is for the whole country, Lagos has the highest number of registrations with seven million, while Kano is next, and Kano’s votes have always beaten Lagos. But this time, it must change, we must surpass Kano because Asiwaju is from Lagos.

“One of the shortcomings in governance is to give the work of a painter to a bricklayer. We have to allow those who are capable to lead; this is what we are known for in Lagos.”

At the rally were Senator Tokunbo Abiru (Lagos East), House of Representatives candidates Bayo Balogun, Wale Raji, state party Chairman Cornelius Ojelabi, among others.

• Drama in banking halls

• Customers keep vigil at ATM points

• Bank officials arrested

Businesses and the daily lives of Nigerians have been badly affected by the worsening scarcity of old and new naira notes across the country.

The scarcity of the naira, which has persisted for weeks, has radically altered the economic landscape of businesses, the living conditions of the people and small business operators. 

As the scarcity persisted, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) confirmed the arrest of some bank managers in connection with hoarding the redesigned naira notes. The bank also advised bank customers to save their old naira notes through POS-super agents by opening savings accounts.

In Lagos, a woman and a man enacted mild dramas in the banking halls of different banks by stripping themselves half-naked while registering their anger.

The Nation findings yesterday showed that the most vulnerable groups, roadside businesses and hawkers, were the worst hit by the cash scarcity. They expressed anxiety and frustrations over low customer traffic and patronage linked to the development.

Roseline Adigun, who sells roasted yam and plantain at the Magodo axis, said her sales volume dropped by over 80 per cent in the last week because of the naira’s scarcity. 

She said: “I have incurred a lot of losses in the last week because of the naira scarcity. Many customers who usually spend N1,000 and N1,200 spend less than N400 at present. They asked me to get a PoS for my business, but the cost is far beyond the capacity of my business,” she said.

Abubakar Umaru, who sells fruits at Ereko Market in Ibeju-Lekki, expressed anxiety over what becomes of his business in the cash-less banking era.

“I have seen a drop in the volume of sales because my customers said they do not have cash. I had one customer who left after he could not make transfers because of a bad network. He left and made his purchases at a nearby supermarket,” Umaru lamented.

While the retail businesses have come under threat, many customers who cannot get cash to make purchases are now moving to malls, where they can use their debit cards.

Many shopping malls like Spar and Shoprite, among others, are cornering the transactions that were previously done by small businesses.

Obinna Akire, one of the shoppers at Spar, Town planning Way, Ilupeju, Lagos, said: 

“When you cannot get cash, the next option is to find where you can use your debit card on the PoS machine. 

“Many of the things I bought today, can be purchased within my neighbourhood, but that would demand the use of cash, which is not available. 

“It is a trend that many people are embracing despite its challenges and poor network connectivity.”  

Bank officials arrested, says CBN

In Abuja, CBN’s Director in charge of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abubakar Kure, told The Nation that more arrests were made in Abuja in connection with the hoarding of new notes.

He said: “Some arrests were made yesterday (Tuesday) and today (Wednesday) in the FCT, Abuja.

 ”A joint task force of CBN, ICPC (Independent Corrupt Practices and other related Offences Commission) and EFCC (Economic Financial Crimes Commission) raided some banks at Ademola Adetokumbo Street, Abuja. 

“Some bank managers were arrested and are currently in ICPC custody. They were arrested in connection with hoarding new notes instead of utilising them through proper channels. 

“Currently, a team of CBN, EFCC and ICPC are in the field looking out for other third parties selling new naira notes instead of putting them in ATMs for the public to access.”

Deposit old notes through POS super agents

Also yesterday, the CBN advised Nigerians to exchange their old notes through PoS agents by opening savings accounts with them.

The Director of Protection of the apex bank, Rasheedat Mangunu, spoke while monitoring some PoS super-agents in Ilorin, Kwara State.

The bank had last month distributed PoS to 30,000 super-agents, with a cash sum of N500,000 each to ease the swap of the old notes.

Mangunu said: “People can easily open a bank account through the POS super-agents, with just National Identity Card and save their old money in their accounts, without stress.

“Our super-agents will deposit all your old naira notes with no charges and your money will be secure in your various bank accounts,” she said.

Don’t extend deadline again, Atiku advises CBN

Meanwhile, the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, has called on the CBN not to extend February 10 swap deadline again.

Atiku made the call despite the difficulties being encountered by Nigerians in accessing the new notes.

In a statement by the Atiku-Okowa campaign organisation, the PDP candidate said extending the deadline would defeat the purpose and objective redesign policy.

Atiku said: “There should be no further postponement of the new naira regime after the expiration of the February 10 deadline. 

“The vote riggers are seeking to push the CBN to extend till after the election when they would have achieved their evil plots. 

“The CBN and the Presidency should be steadfast. The merits of the new naira policy far outweigh the little inconvenience we are experiencing.”

Those who claimed the remarks by the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu during Tuesday’s rally in Calabar, the Cross River State capital, were targeted at the presidency got it wrong, the party’s Presidential Campaign Council (APC PCC) has said.

The APC PCC, in a statement in Abuja yesterday by its Director, Media and Publicity, Bayo Onanuga, distanced Tinubu from casting aspersions on the character of President Muhammadu Buhari at the U.J Esuene Stadium venue of the presidential rally.

The campaign council noted that Tinubu’s reference to exchange rate was not in any way an attack on the Buhari-led administration but an attempt to capture how the economic mismanagement of the PDP created forex crisis since 2015.

The statement reads: “We find it important to correct the misrepresentation of the statement of our candidate, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu at the campaign rally in Calabar yesterday by a section of the media especially Thisday Newspaper and its broadcast arm, Arise News.

“Anyone who followed the entire sequence and context of what Asiwaju said at the rally in Calabar will know he directed his missiles against PDP and Atiku. Let’s we forget, the PDP left the forex reserve at $28 billion by May 2015, when Buhari took over despite unprecedented revenue from crude oil.

“Even with the massive oil theft and low price of crude, until recently, President Buhari had built up the reserve to about $38 billion. The PDP in 1999 met the exchange rate at N85 to one US dollar in 1999 and left it at N230 in 2015.

“The futile attempt to misrepresent Asiwaju Tinubu by the mischievous PDP media did not detract from his central message. Our candidate explicitly said the people should not follow PDP and Atiku because they don’t know the road.

“Asiwaju Tinubu could not have meant President Buhari does not know road, having celebrated, numerous times, the achievements of the Buhari administration. Tinubu had also said at campaign fora he would build on the achievements, when elected on 25 February.”

“It is simply illogical that the same Asiwaju would attack the Buhari administration of not knowing the road. In contrast, throughout this campaign up till now, Asiwaju Tinubu has consistently said PDP and all the opposition parties put together do not know the road to prosperity for Nigeria. He also said the competing candidates do not have the track record he amassed as governor of Lagos.

“As the frontrunner in the race, he has promised to implement his robust Action Plan that will bring socio-economic prosperity to our country. We are not unmindful of the antics of Thisday Newspaper and Arise News to deliberately misrepresent our candidate and accentuate anything they think will project Asiwaju Tinubu in a bad light since the beginning of this electioneering circle.

“We want to state categorically that all the machinations of the opposition elements to put a wedge between President Muhammadu Buhari and Asiwaju Tinubu will fail. APC, its leadership and President Buhari are strongly united behind our presidential candidate.”

“All the sponsored innuendos, invented and imaginary discord in APC which the failed PDP and their media organs hope to cash on to win the coming election will blow up in their faces.”

Rivers Governor Nyesom Wike has withdrawn the approval he granted the chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Presidential Campaign Council to use the Adokiye Amiesimaka Stadium to campaign for its Candidate, Alh. Atiku Abubakar.

Wike had vowed to hit back at the Dr. Iyorchia Ayu-led PDP after the party’s National Chairman replaced his lawyers handling some important cases for Rivers PDP at the Court of Appeal.

It was gathered the cancellation of the earlier conditional approval granted Atiku’s camp in the state to have access to the facility 48 hours to the presidential rally scheduled for January 11 was one of the governor’s reactions to Ayu’s action.

The Governor cancelled the approval in a letter dated January 31 written by the Commissioner for Sports, Christopher Green, and addressed to Governor Aminu Tambuwal of Sokoto State, who is the Director-General of PDP, Presidential Council.

The letter accused the Rivers Presidential Campaign Organisation of planning to share the use of the facility with a “faction of the All Progressives Congress (APC) led by Tonye Cole”.

The letter said: “Credible intelligence available to the government of Rivers State and recent developments now show that your Presidential Campaign Organisation is working in collaboration and in cahoot with a faction of the APC led by Tonye Patrick Cole and that it is the intention of your presidential campaign organisation to accommodate and share the approved facility for your campaign with the said faction of the APC.

“Government records show that the activities of the APC in Rivers have always been married by violence due largely to irreconcilable internal conflicts within the party including shootings and killings in the course of protest arising from the nomination process of delegates for primaries and detonation of explosives in the course of campaigns”.

The letter said the state government would not risk damage to a state prized asset like the Adokiye Amiesimaka Stadium that could arise from the alleged planned collaboration with Toney Cole-led APC.

“In the circumstance, the Rivers State Government has come to the painful but inevitable decision to withdraw the approval earlier given to you for the use of the stadium and the said approval is hereby withdrawn”, the letter said.

The spokesperson of the PDP Presidential Campaign Council in Rivers, Leloonu Nwibubase, who confirmed the development said they were not surprised by the Governor’s action.

He said they were aware that the approval earlier granted by the governor was a Greek gift insisting that they were not rattled by the development.

When asked whether they were making an alternative arrangement to hold the rally, he said: “For us I will say very clearly that the Presidential Campaign Council in Rivers State is not rattled at all. What has happened is not a surprise so we have our options on the table.

“We will speak to the teeming PDP supporters and supporters of our presidential candidate in due course. We will continue with our campaign. We are very sure that the ultimate goal is for Rivers to vote Atiku Abubakar as their Presidential Candidate and that we will succeed. We will unveil our options”.