The Presidential Campaign Council of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has exonerated the presidential candidate of the party, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, over comments credited to him where he alleged that the current fuel scarcity and the redesign of the naira was aimed at truncating his presidential ambition.
In a statement issued on Thursday by Bayo Onanuga, the Director, Media and Publicity of the APC Campaign Council, the team blamed those he referred to as “fifth columnists” working in cahoots with the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) as being responsible for the scarcity of fuel and new naira notes.
Tinubu had made headlines during the APC presidential campaign rally in Abeokuta, Ogun State on Wednesday where he said:
“Let fuel be expensive, only they know where they keep it. Keep petrol, keep the naira, we will vote and be elected. You may change the ink of naira notes. What you expect will not happen. We will win.”
THE PDP, capitalising on the comment by the APC flag-bearer, in a statement, said Tinubu was “trying to blackmail President Muhammadu Buhari and blame the All Progressives Congress (APC)-led Federal Government over his looming devastating rejection by Nigerians.”
“It is unfortunate that Asiwaju Tinubu is trying to hoodwink Nigerians by seeking to exonerate himself and blame others in the Buhari led-APC administration from the biting fuel scarcity in the country, when in reality he (Asiwaju Tinubu) is known to be behind the insensitive and anti-people policies that have brought so much calamity to our country including the current persistent fuel scarcity,” the PDP added.
However, in a response to the PDP statement, the APC Campaign Council said “Nigerians should no longer be in doubt about those working in cahoots with fifth columnists in the system to inflict avoidable pains on our hapless people for a political end.”
The Council also said Tinubu never blamed President Muhammadu Buhari for the current challenges in the country.
“No sooner Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu empathised with the Nigerian people facing the dual crises of fuel and new Naira notes scarcity, than the opposition PDP and the Atiku camp issued a knee-jerk response, derailing from the issues, distorting Asiwaju’s statement and trying, in vain, to create a wedge between our presidential candidate and President Muhammadu Buhari,” the statement said.
“For the records, Asiwaju Tinubu during APC campaign rally at Abeokuta on Wednesday, in his statement, did not mention, blame or accuse President Muhammadu Buhari for the current challenges in the country.
“Asiwaju Tinubu was only adverting government’s attention to the sabotage being carried out by some Fifth Columnists in the system, possibly working in cahoots with the PDP.
“Asiwaju Tinubu is aware of the salutary efforts by President Buhari to end the fuel queues, by chairing a 14-man panel. Yet the queues and agony continue.
“For a presidential candidate, who cares about the suffering of our people, he has a duty to warn government that its efforts to make life better for Nigerians are being sabotaged on several fronts.
“How does an advisory genuinely made by Asiwaju Tinubu to protect and create goodwill for the government of his party become an attack? It can only be so in the jaundiced view of the PDP.
“It is in this light we found amusing the directionless Atiku Campaign’s bagful of mischief in their hurriedly put together press statement meant to gain shameful mileage from the suffering of Nigerians.
“PDP and Atiku should remember not to get high on their own smoke. No political blackmail and an attempt to create a conflict between Tinubu and his long-term ally, President Muhammadu Buhari can succeed.”