Presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Ahmed Tinubu's recent criticism of the Buhari government's decision to redesign the nation's national currency, Naira, and to also increase the price of fuel in the country, may have worsen his chances of winning the presidential election, as he risks losing the support of the president heading into the polls.
According to a report by Daily Trust, Tinubu at the APC presidential rally in Abeokuta, Ogun State, on Wednesday, said some “traitors” have plotted to sabotage the election, using the fuel scarcity and the naira redesign.
“They are plotting, but they will fail. They said fuel price will increase and reach N200 per litre. Go and relax. They don’t want this election to be held, they want to scuttle it. Will you allow them?”, Tinubu asked the teeming supporters at the rally.
The PDP who obviously would welcome the development, wasted no time in reacting to Tinubu's statement, saying it is more of a case of one being afraid of his shadow.
“”Tinubu, while addressing a crowd in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, said the currency redesign was targeted at him. Well, the Holy Bible says in Proverbs 28: 1 that “the wicked run when no one is chasing them, but an honest person is as brave as a lion,” Atiku’s Special Assistant, Phrank Shaibu, said in a statement.
Coming to Tinubu's defense, a statement by Bayo Onanuga, Director, Media & Publicity, APC Presidential Campaign Council, on Thursday sought to clarify Tinubu's statements, saying it has nothing to do with the President, but rather, the opposition party and its candidate “working in cahoots with fifth columnists in the system to inflict avoidable pains on our hapless people for political end.”
The statement reads “Nigerians should no longer be in doubt about those working in cahoots with fifth columnists in the system to inflict avoidable pains on our hapless people for political end.
“No sooner Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu empathised with the Nigerian people facing the dual crises of fuel and new Naira notes scarcity, than the opposition PDP and the Atiku camp issued a knee-jerk response, derailing from the issues, distorting Asiwaju’s statement and trying, in vain, to create a wedge between our presidential candidate and President Muhammadu Buhari.
“When the guilty are afraid of being uncovered, they try to push back with red-herring
“For the records, Asiwaju Tinubu during APC campaign rally at Abeokuta on Wednesday, in his statement, did not mention, blame or accuse President Muhammadu Buhari for the current challenges in the country.
“Asiwaju Tinubu was only adverting government’s attention to the sabotage being carried out by some Fifth Columnists in the system, possibly working in cahoots with the PDP.”