Politics
By POEM
“WHATEVER PDP says about APC is true and whatever APC says about PDP is true. But all that either party says about itself are lies.”_* – Kenneth Okonkwo.
Nothing has been more apt in description of what has happened in this campaign than the above words used by the Labour Party Presidential Campaign spokesperson a few weeks ago.
And it was very glaringly given wings by the duo of Festus Keyamo, SAN and Barr Daniel Bwala both presidential campaign spokespersons for APC and PDP respectively. Appearing on Channels Television as guests of Seun Okinbaloye in ‘The 2023 Verdict’ programme, both went fangs and claws in tearing into each other’s party as the main culprit in the currency redesign saga.
Keyamo tried to be smart by half by praising and condemning the president and leader of his own party, HE Muhammadu Buhari in equal measure.
Okinbaloye isn’t one to see an opening without throwing a punch. He decided to go with an upper cut, which landed heavily on Keyamo’s chin, “are you saying that the president who is the leader of your party wants your party to lose this presidential election?”
“Not at all. Mr. President acted in good faith but as a lawyer, a member of the Inner Chamber and a member of Mr. President’s Cabinet, I say he was ill-advised,” the serving minister sweated in attempt to smoother the blow.
Keyamo notoriously said that when ‘Jungle Mature’ that Labour Party will fizzle out of the equation. Few days, exactly seven days, to the election, it is his own APC that is openly dissected, divided, disjointed and as Bwala put it, _’suffering from agoraphobia’._
Mr. President, who is the leader of APC, directed the CBN to embark on the currency redesign. And after making a nationwide broadcast to offer a relief to Nigerian masses by allowing the old N200 notes to continue being a legal tender for 60 more days, HE Nasiri el-Rufai, an APC governor of Kaduna State made his own broadcast later in the day, instructing that people of Kaduna State continue transacting with the old N500 and N1000 notes till after the election.
Going further, el-Rufai said that the currency redesign is the handiwork of those who lost to Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu in the primary election as well as those he did not choose as running mate just to ensure that the former Lagos State governor does not win the presidential election.
With all these coming within the ruling party, how far can a party go before the likes of Keyamo acknowledge that the APC is in deep crises?
1. How can an el-Rufai counter a presidential order and the party claims all is well?
2. How can Tinubu be the only candidate out of 18 to kick against the currency redesign?
3. Why is the currency redesign riots happening in mainly APC-controlled states?
4. Why is Tinubu fighting a policy that will eliminate vote-buying in the coming election?
5. Why should a faction of APC insist that a policy affecting all other 17 candidates is being targeted at stopping Tinubu?
From the actions of the el-Rufai faction of the APC, Nigerians can believe the president and his APC faction that, truly he is determined to supervise a free, fair and credible election.
By going gaga and deceiving only himself that Tinubu will win, Keyamo probably thinks all Nigerian voters are in kindergarten.
The currency redesign is not just to stop vote-buying, it has also been analysed by progressive professionals as a perfect step towards stabilizing the naira and rescuing our economy from the slum it presently is. How will a sensible Nigerian now vote for a man, who will evidently cancel the Naira redesign upon getting into office as promised by his top confidant, el-Rufai.
By his recent actions, Buhari has exposed the fact that a cabal actually held him back in all his nearly eight years in office. He is fighting to make sure they equally don’t deny him the will to actualize his promise of a transparent election.
The man from Daura is trying to fix the mess of the 24 years of Fourth Republic regarding abuse of the naira where private individuals stack it in bullion vans and in private residences.
Bwala may have driven it into the APC where it hurts but the PDP are no close to saints to be entrusted with maintaining a policy that they steered astray in the first place. Those who imagined the PDP must have repented should just go back to what happened to the billions they realized from sales of nomination forms. A leopard never changes its spots!
The Labour Party is the only way to a new Nigeria. HE Peter Obi and Senator Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed are the only pair who can wipe away the suffering of the masses and steer the nation towards genuine greatness.
POEM feels for the present hardships from the currency redesign process and adds to calls from well-meaning Nigerians to the CBN to make enough new currency available to the masses. As well, all commercial banks should upgrade their transfer apps in order to reduce queues at banks and ATMs.
The currency redesign should be supported and Mr. President’s march to a credible election should not be sabotaged.
***POEM is one of the support groups for the Peter Obi campaign
KN
Tags: Festus Keyamo Kenneth Okonkwo POEM
