By Babalola Seyi
The Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, has accused governors of the All Progressives Congress (APC) of preparing the ground for anarchy in the country through their utterances over the naira redesign.
In a statement by his Special Assistant on Public Communications Mr. Phrank Shaibu, the PDP candidate, sympathised with Nigerians over the hardship they are facing over the naira scarcity, which was having unintended consequences.
Shaibu, however, said the inciting comments by some APC governors wherein they threatened to shut banks rejecting the old notes had emboldened rioters to burn down commercial banks.
He said Ogun State Governor Dapo Abiodun, who had threatened to revoke the certificate of occupancy of banks rejecting the old notes, was acting like a dictator, and this had evoked rebellious actions.
Shaibu also knocked Kaduna State Governor, Nasir el-Rufai and Abdullahi Ganduje of Kano State, accusing them of trying to provoke civil disobedience in their states.
He said, “The APC and their governors do not love the masses. Their only grouse is their inability to buy votes because of this policy. Nigerians must not be deceived by these unscrupulous politicians.”
Mr Shaibu also supported the claims of the governor of Edo State, Godwin Obaseki, accusing the APC chieftain, Adams Oshiomhole, of sponsoring the riots in Benin, the state capital.
“Oshiomhole is one of the biggest critics of the naira redesign policy. It is not surprising that Governor Obaseki, who is the chief security officer of the state, has established that Oshiomhole is behind the riots. The APC really needs to stop provoking these riots,” he said.
Mr Shaibu also called on the Nigeria Police Force, the Secret State Services, and other security agencies to infiltrate the ranks of those staging riots with a view to identifying their sponsors.
“With elections less than five days away, the ultimate goal of the sponsors of these riots may be the postponement of elections. We commend the military and the police so far for curbing some of these riots.
“However, we call on them to go a step further by identifying their sponsors” he said.
