February 01, (THEWILL) – Kaduna State governor, Nasir El-Rufai, has alleged that some few persons he described as 5th Columnist, have hijacked the presidency, to frustrate the chances of the All Progressives Congress (APC), in the February 25, presidential election.
El-Rufai spoke on Wednesday, when he featured on Channels Television breakfast programme Sunrise Daily.
He was reacting to the redesigning of naira notes, as well as ongoing fuel crisis in the country.
The Governor, who condemned some policies of the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration, said the redesign of the naira notes was not an agenda of the All Progressives Congress (APC), but few people in the Presidency.
He accused a few persons he referred to as 5th Columnist of highjacking policy formulation in the country; adding that most of the people in the Presidential Villa are not APC members.
“The policy of currency redesign is the idea of few people in the Presidential Villa. APC never promised Naira redesign. This is not the right time to embark on such exercise because most part of the areas in Nigeria have no banking facilities.
“I must say that the naira redesign and fuel scarcity is the handiwork of 5th Columnist because they want to bring the country down, otherwise why must redesigning of naira will be the priority of the federal government at this time”, he said.
The governor said those individual elements are hiding behind President Buhari’s desire to do what he thinks is right.
“I believe there are elements in the Villa that want us to lose the election because they didn’t get their way; they had their candidate. Their candidate did not win the primaries.
“They are trying to get us to lose the election, and they are hiding behind the president’s desire to do what he thinks is right. I will give two examples: this petroleum subsidy, which is costing the country trillions of Naira, was something that we all agreed would be removed.
“In fact, I had a discussion with the president and showed him why it had to go. Because how can you have a capital budget of N200bn for federal roads and then spend N2 Trillion on petroleum subsidy? This was a conversation I had with the president in 2021 when the subsidy thing started rising. He was convinced. We left. It changed. Everyone in the government agreed, and it changed.
“The second example I will give is this currency redesign. You have to understand the president. People are blaming the Governor of the Central Bank for the currency redesign, but No.
“You have to go back and look at the first outing of Buhari as president. He did this; the Buhari, Idiagbon regime changed our currency and did it in secrecy with a view to catching those that are stashing away illicit funds.
“It is a very good intention. The president has his right. But doing it at this time, and within the allotted time does not make any political or economic sense.”
Asked if he is not using his closeness with President Buhari to make suggestions on how to solve some national issues, the Governor, said he has since stopped going to the Presidential Villa because all his suggestions were not accepted.
“I stopped going to Presidential Villa four years ago. What is the use when every suggestion you bring will not be accepted. I rather stayed back solving the problems of my state (Kaduna), which I believe will be more important to me and my people. I don’t go to the Presidential Villa anymore”, the Governor added.
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