Wilson Adekumola
The Spokesman for the All Progressives Congrepresidential campaign organisation, Festus Keyamo, has criticized some opposition members for backing the Central Bank of Nigeria’s monetary policy.
He said the political opponents believe the directive is to frustrate the APC presidential candidate, Bola Tinubu’s ambition to succeed President Buhari come May 29.
Keyamo, who is also the Minister of State for Labour and Productivity, expressed worries why members of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party whom he said had always condemned every policy of President Muhammadu Buhari suddenly began to praise him.
“All of a sudden PDP gets up from nowhere and begins to praise Buhari,” the minister said on Channels Television’s The 2023 Verdict programme on Friday,
“I say, ‘What a time to be alive.’ ‘Oh, Buhari is an honest man.’ I said, ‘Wait a minute, these are people who have always told Nigerians that Buhari’s integrity is fake; that Buhari is not an honest man.’
“Now, you wake up one morning and you are praising Buhari, because of politics, because you think in your own estimation that the policy in place is designed to curtail or to affect or harm your opponent. In that regard, they are cutting their nose to spite their faces.
“They got themselves into a mess and scored an own goal. Now, they are the ones begging Nigerians not to riot, they are now the ones begging Nigerians to support government policy, opposition. Why? Because in their perception, they think that is against Asiwaju,” he added.
Keyamo also pointed out his thoughts on the policy, which continues to enjoy the support of President Muhammadu Buhari.
The President in a broadcast on Thursday ordered that the old N200 banknotes remain in circulation till April 10, while the old N500 and N1,000 bills banned to serve as legal tender.
However, the policy did not go well with some governors of the APC, who approached the Supreme Court. The apex court subsequently granted an interim order restraining the implementation of the policy.
“My view is that the President acted honestly without intention to slight the Supreme Court, but he may have acted on wrong advice.
“I did not give that advice; it is not my responsibility. I don’t know who gave that advice. I want to say this openly because tomorrow, people will ask me where I stood at this time,” Keyamo said.
