Atiku Abubakar, the Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP) presidential candidate, has charged that statements made by APC governors over the redesign of the naira have set the stage for disorder in the nation.
The PDP candidate, Phrank Shaibu, expressed sympathy with Nigerians for the suffering they were experiencing due to the naira scarcity, which was having unforeseen repercussions, in a statement from his Special Assistant on Public Communications.
As shown in viral recordings, Atiku criticized the Ogun State branch of the All Progressives Congress for handing out outdated notes to voters in advance of the election.
Atiku claimed that the APC governors’ inflammatory remarks, in which they threatened to close banks that accepted the old currency, had given rioters the confidence to set commercial banks on fire.
He claimed that Ogun State Governor Dapo Abiodun was acting like a tyrant and had incited unrest by threatening to withdraw the certificate of occupancy of banks that were refusing to accept the old notes.
The PDP candidate cited Edo State Governor Godwin Obaseki’s accusation of APC leader Adams Oshiomhole of financing the disturbances in Benin as unmistakable proof that the APC was responsible for the unrest.
Nasir el-Rufai, the governor of Kaduna State, and Abdullahi Ganduje, the governor of Kano State, were criticized by Atiku for attempting to incite civil disobedience in their states.
He urged the Directorate of State Services, the Nigeria Police Force, and other security organizations to enter the ranks of those organizing riots to determine who is funding them.
The final objective, according to him, might be to pressure the Independent National Electoral Commission to postpone the election due to unrest.
