SENATOR Rabi’u Musa Kwankwaso, presidential candidate of New Nigerian People Party (NNPP), has knocked the All Progressive Congress (APC) governors criticising President Muhammadu Buhari over naira redesign policy.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) which introduced the policy last year had fixed January 31 as deadline for spending old N200, N500 and N1000 notes in public.
This had generated a huge controversy. After intense pressure, the apex bank shifted the deadline by 10 days.
Some governors of the ruling party sought the intervention of the president, who told them to give him seven days to take action.
But three days after meeting Buhari, three APC governors filed a suit to challenge the naira redesign policy at the supreme court.
The court ordered the CBN not to implement the deadline but Godwin Emefiele, CBN governor, said there was no need to shift the deadline.
Buhari had partially complied with the court as he ordered an extension of the deadline of N200 notes and declared that old N500 and N1000 notes were no longer legal tender.
This had triggered a nationwide outrage. Governors of the ruling party joined those who criticised Buhari over the issue.
While Governor Abdullahi Ganduje of Kano State had alleged that the naira redesign policy was aimed at truncating Nigeria’s democracy, his Kaduna counterpart, Nasir El-Rufai, asked residents to disregard Buhari’s directive.
Governors Dapo Abidoun (Ogun), Babajide Sanwo-Olu (Lagos), Abubakar Badaru (Jigawa) were among those who declared that old N500 and N1000 notes were still legal tender in their states.
Reacting to the developments, Kwankwaso said he was shocked that APC governors could act in that manner.
“In each state, you have branches of banks and in some states, you have even the national headquarters of those banks, on one hand we thought they (governors) would take all the billions from government houses and so on.
“But we realize these same governors were abusing their leaders, insulting them, I was shocked. I never thought some of them could abuse Buhari to that level.
“On one hand I was surprised that facts were coming out and we began to wonder what is wrong with them? Maybe EFCC was right that some governors are keeping billions of naira in their compounds across the country.
“Now the policy has made that looted money completely useless, I think that is why they are angry. So we are so happy with the Federal Government on that, the money they have collected is completely zero, it has expired.
“And I think all agencies should keep their eyes on that and I want to assure you that our party is going to assist the Federal Government, especially on election day, please tell all members of NNPP to join EFCC, to join the police and other security agencies that wherever they see try to buy votes, please stop them,” Kwankwaso said at an NNPP function.