…Hails El-rufai over comments on elements working against Tinubu
From Noah Ebije, Kaduna
A group under the auspices of Joint Front of Civil Society Organizations of Nigeria (JFCSON) has tackled the presidential candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar for allegedly playing politics with the extended date for the formal expiration of the old naira notes.
A statement by the National President of the group, Barnabas Bala Yock, also said, “We appreciate the courageous intervention of Tinubu and the endorsement of the truth by the Nigerian First Lady Aisha Buhari and bold exposition of the presidency elements by Governor Nasir El-Rufai”.
However, Yock in the statement insisted, “Atiku’s recent remarks opposing the extension of the deadline for the swap, and PDP’s challenge to the Asiwaju patriotic intervention have confirmed that Atiku and the PDP are part of the dangerous collaboration to tamper with due democratic processes and bring about greater conflict that will derail the system.
“We find it quite unfortunate, unbecoming and unstatesmanlike, unforgivable and unacceptable for Atiku, a man who has spent most of his life asking Nigerians to trust him with leadership to be among those encouraging policies that potentially affect negatively, the lives and livelihoods of the same people he seeks to rule.
“We note the patriotic intervention of the ruling party’s presidential candidate, Bola Ahmed Tinubu whose courageous outburst exposed a siniter agenda for the destabilization of the nation and consequent scuttling of a smooth transition to a freely and fairly elected successive administration.
“This intervention succeeded in forcing the CBN Governor and his collaborators to recant and adjust the naira swap deadline by another 10 days.
“It has also exposed a grand connivance between the opposition Peoples Democratic Party, its presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar and a clique in the Presidential Villa to execute this diabolical scheme”.
The group further added, “We condemn and reject the evil collaboration to deliberately derail the nation’s hard earned democracy, with the imposition of harsh unrealistic policies by a calculated design to continuously weaken the masses of the people and pauperize them economically.
“We reject the mean 10 days extension of the deadline for the currency swap and the inhuman cash withdrawal limit.
“We condemn the open support for these policies by the PDP and its presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar.
“We call on Nigerian voters to note those political office seekers and to remember those who stood with and by the people and those who attempted to take advantage of the people’s weakness by supporting the imposition of harsh economic realities on the nation.
“We call on all segments of the Nigerian nation to unite in the coming elections to reject politicians who think power is an end in itself; who mobilize the people only during elections, sowing seeds of division and leaving everyone poorer and more insecure than they were”.