By Lateef Adegbite and Suleiman Umaru
When Enock Adejare Edeboye, a Clergyman and General Overseer, of the Redeem Christian Church of God, RCCG, and who hardly gives out any message to his Congregation without hearing from God expressed concern over the possibility of the 2023, general elections, pundits had laughed.
The foremost Clergyman had said that despite the closeness of the date, which is February 25, 2023, for the Presidential and National Assembly election, ‘’God has not revealed to him whether there would be an election or not’’ but that was how far he could go.
Barely, three months, after he had made such the Statement, Adams Oshiomhole, a former governor of Edo state and one-time National Chairman of the ruling All Progressive Congress, APC, may have hit the nail on the head when he described the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, under the close watch of Godwin Emefiele, redesigned the N200, N5000, N1000, Notes and naira swap policy as a ‘’deceptive.
He had described the naira swap policy, and scarcity of Premium Motor Spirit, PMS, popular, Petrol, in several parts of the country, with the long queues resurfacing in filing stations, despite the hike in the pump price of the product, with many buying the product for as much as N500.00 for a litre at the black market as ploy to truncate the 2023, general elections. He had given an instance when he ran out of fuel and had to pay N1000.00 a litre, noting that’’ somebody is responsible for the mess’’. Nigerians may take him serious because he is a Chieftain of the APC and close political ally of Tinubu who may have some privileged information.
He could not understand why the country should be thrown into petrol crisis in an election year in spite of the huge amount that the Nigerian government spends on payment of fuel subsidy .Hajia Zainab Ahmed, minister of Finance Budget and National Planning, had said that the government is spending about N7 trillion for fuel subsidy but Oshiomhole had described it as funny as most Nigerians have found themselves paying much more than what the market rate could be if found to buy.
The Opposition People’s Democratic Party, PDP, Leadership, had said that there was no basis for the scarcity of the new naira Notes, particular, blaming it on Aswaju Bola Tinubu, a former governor of Lagos state and Presidential Candidate of the ruling APC and Chieftains of the party.
The party claimed that it has uncovered a cladestine plot by some APC Chieftains allegedly working for the APC Candidate to swap N22.5 billion stashed away old naira Notes to the new CBN Notes in Kano state, in desperate move to actualise the party vote buying plans in the 2023, general elections.
Debo Ologunagba, PDP, spokeperson,has revealed that the action of Tinubu and the party Chieftains are responsible for ‘’the biting cash crunch in the country that is being Coordinated in the north western region by two APC governors’’.
The PDP, spokesperson had said that the Tinubu’s stashed away N22.5 billion are in old N1000.00 Notes, allegedly kept in a Kano state government facility before moving the funds to an undisclosed old generation bank and new generation bank where the regional heads were said to have been contacted by Tinubu to swap the old Notes with New ones.
Ologuanagba, noted that the huge cash stashed away by Tinubu was meant for vote buying in Kano, Kaduna, Bauchi, Jigawa and Sokoto states, stressing that it is being ware housed by the Tinubu /Shettima Campain Organisation. He disclosed, as reported by Channels Televisison that a particular APC governor in the region has taken delivery of N500 million to actualise the vote buying plot.
The PDP, Leadership which, according to sources, is loosely monitoring the APC Flag bearer to see how he will swap the N22.5 billion earmarked for the 2023, elections, had revealed that there are also reports that arrangement has been concluded by the APC Chieftains working closely with Tinubu, the APC Candidate to move a substantial part of the old Notes from Kano to Lagos, the nation’s Commercial nerve centre, between Monday, February 6, 2023 and Tuesday, February 7, 023.
Recall that Oshiomhole, now a close political ally of Nyensom Wike, the arrow head of the five aggrieved governors, G5, in the opposition PDP, popular, now Integrity Group, opposed to Senator Iyorchia Ayu, Leadership of the party, had consistently said that the intention of the apex bank may not have been ‘’to eliminate abuses in the nation’s financial system but to stop the 2023, general elections from taking place’’.
Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, former governor of Lagos state and APC, Flag bearer for the 2023, Presidential elections, who has been accused by the PDPD, of using his contacts in the banks to mop up the new Notes to swap his stashed away N22.5 million old Notes had alleged of a sinister plot ‘’ to cause a national crisis that will lead to ‘’the postponement and disruption of the Presidential and National Assembly elections’’ on February 25, 2023, that may rub off on the Governorship and House of Assembly elections on March 31,2023
The recent arrest of eight armed thugs at the Osogbo, Capital of Osun, home state, of Rauf Aregbesola, minister of Interior and who incidentally was a former governor of the state at a rally venue, of the APC, Presidential Candidate on Friday, February 3, 2023, speaks volume.
The Leadership of the PDP, in the state are watching to see what the Inspector of Police, IGP, will do. Akindele Adekunle, the PDP, Caretaker Committee Chairman in the south west state may have known that Tinubu, will use his contacts to facilitate the release of the arrested armed thugs, that the party has warned against any attempt to free the hoodlum.
The ruling PDP in the state had called on Faleye Sunday Olaleye, the state Commissioner of Police, ‘’to parade and charge the suspects to Court without further delay’’. The party thugs were said to confessed that they belong the APC and were brought to the rally ground by the party Chieftains. The bandits were said to be in possession of dangerous weapons ranging from pump action guns, pistols, cutlass, axes, and other incriminating weapons.
Femi Gbajabiamila, Speaker, House of Representatives and Tinubu, political ally, may have known that the time for the election is drawing close and that something urgent needed to be done to restore people’s confidence to the political system that he has said that ‘’ the Lawmakers who are currently on break may be forced to reconvene if the hardship occasioned by the naira sap policy and scarcity of fuel continues.
Instead of facing the issue on ground to find a way out of the problem before the February 25, 2023, Presidential and National Assembly elections, he has corroborated Tinubu, the APC, Presidential Candidate views that the fifth Columnists, in Cooperation with the PDP, are the ones trying to sabotage the 2023, general elections.
The question on the lips of most people was: why should a party that sees itself as a government in waiting be the one that will sabotage the election that is expected to bring it into power after the 2023, general elections, when the Presidential Flag beaer, Atiku Abubakar, who had asked the CBN, not to listen to the election riggers pushing it to extend the deadline for the naira swap policy which expires on February 10, 2023 .
Even without the CBN Authorities taking a decision whether to further extend the deadline for the naira swap or not, a Federal High Court in Abuja, has stopped the apex bank , the Nigerian President and the 27 Commercial Banks operating in the country from suspending or interfering with currency redesign terminal date of February 10, 2023 or issue any directive contrary to the said date.
This is a victory for Emefiele , the CBN, governor, who at the wake of the naira swap crisis had said that ‘’the regulatory body would not extend the deadline’’.
There is no gainsaying the fact that the naira swap policy and petrol scarcity have plunged millions of Nigerians into hardship and destroying scores of Small and Medium Scale, SMEs, business, that requires cash to run on a daily basis , thus, exacerbating the scourge of unemployment , hunger, and poverty in the country.
In spite of the plot by the enemies of the state to precipitate crisis in the country using the ineffective naira swap policy and fuel scarcity as an alibi to do so, may have informed why Wike, the Rivers state governor has urged Nigerians that ‘’no matter the provocation, they should not ‘’protest’’ insisting that the 2023, general elections must hold. Hear him: this elections is by the PVC. This election is not an election of the cabals, it is an election of Nigerians to choose their Leader who will take over from Buhari.
But Femi Falana, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, SAN and Chairman, Alliance on Surviving COVID 19 and Beyond, , ASCAB ,may not take the advise.The Legal Luminary who is not happy, that Nigerians are suffering in their own country had said that the government had created the twin problems of scarcity of new Naira Notes and Fuel,’’to threaten the conduct of the 2023, general elections which will provide the electorates the opportunity to choose a party considered to be representative of their aspirations’’.
The Falana led Advocacy Group, has threatened a nationwide protest should the Buhari led APC, government fail to bring ‘’to resolve the naira Notes and fuel sarcity’’ problem in the country before Friday, February 10, 2023. He was emphatic: The country will witness nationwide peaceful mass actions by the Nigerian People.
