Kano Governor Abdullahi Ganduje on Thursday said President Muhammadu Buhari did not achieve anything throughout his eight years in office, and is now determined to ruin the All Progressive Congress (APC) before leaving office in May 2023.
In a televised discussion on Thursday, Mr Ganduje, who spoke in Hausa, reminded the people how Mr Buhari had failed in his three previous attempts before 2015 when political parties merged to form APC and dislodge the Peoples Democratic Party from office.
Mr Ganduje further stated that Mr Buhari has had no tangible achievements to point out throughout his stay in office but had instead decided to destroy the party that brought him into power.
“In the first term, nothing of great importance can point out as his achievement, same as in his second term. So, why is he bringing out all these policies now? why not seven years ago? He just wants to collapse the party that produced him,” he said.
“How could care for Nigerians and then propose such a policy as the naira redesign? Why not seven years ago or after the election? This shows he is not a good leader; if he is, he would not remain calm seeing people setting properties on fire out of frustration,” the Kano governor added.
“This is why we went to the court and stand against them because we know that their motive is to prevent free and fair elections. By God’s grace, all of their efforts will be in vain because we will reverse all these policies as soon as we win the election.”
The APC stalwart also mentioned that he would adhere to orders of the Supreme Court that recognised continuous usage of old naira notes, even as the presidency and the Central Bank of Nigeria, (CBN) are asking the banks to stop accepting the notes because they had ceased to be legal tender in Nigeria.
People’s businesses are suffering, and you are asking for more time. I’ve ordered the closure of any supermarket that rejects old naira notes. Supreme Court recognizes the notes, and you are asking banks not to accept the notes. Who is more powerful between the Court and them?” Mr Ganduje, an ally of the president, said.
Ganduje said it was unfortunate that despite the collective efforts made by the APC to ensure Buhari’s election victories in 2015 and 2019 after several losses, the president had resolved to pay the party and those that supported him back by destroying the party that brought him to power.
He said, “Imagine someone has been contesting without winning elections until after a merger was formed. He won the election and spent four years and re-contested again and he won, now that he is about to go, he is doing nothing but to destroy the party that elected him,” Ganduje said.
On the policy, Ganduje asked why the president and CBN governor, Godwin Emefiele did not think of the policy seven years ago and why it had to be on the eve of an election.
“What is wrong with doing it after elections? Why hasn’t he done this in the past seven years? What is the meaning of all these? This CBN governor is not a politician; he doesn’t know anything about politics. How can a politician enjoy this policy? Imagine how as a leader you watch banks engulfed by fire, if not that the democracy has decayed, will that be possible?
“How is it possible when the World Bank said the policy is wrong, the IMF said it is wrong, other leaders said it is wrong, but you said you need seven days to think over it? The poor man selling vegetables will have his goods rotten (before the end of the thinking period), that is why I close down one supermarket for rejecting the old notes. The Supreme Court has said the old notes are still a legal tender, that is why any bank that refuses to collect, I will revoke their certificate and if they do that, they cannot work”, he said.
Ganduje also stated that Tinubu would revoke the policy after the election. He said the policy was not that of the ruling party but they are aware this is part of the plot to ensure elections do not hold, saying the development is similar to how MKO Abiola was denied of being president.
“It was like this at the time of SDP with the Association of Better Nigeria (ABN); the CBN governor is the ABN of this dispensation.
“Therefore, this is even beyond not wanting someone to win the election; it is democracy itself they don’t want. They want to set up an interim government committee like that of Ernest Shonekan.