The ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) on Sunday, advised the Federal Government and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to respect the Supreme Court ruling on the implementation of the currency redesign and swap policy.
The party’s National Working Committee (NWC) at a meeting with the governors elected on its platform and presidential candidate, Bola Tinubu, at the APC headquarters in Abuja, maintained that the order of the apex court is still subsisting.
The meeting also urged President Muhammadu Buhari to urgently intervene and halt the current sufferings, occasioned by the faulty implementation of the monetary policy.
Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai, Kogi State Governor Yahaya Bello and their Zamafara State counterpart, Bello Mattawale, had taken the Federal Government and the CBN to court over the policy in the face of hardship being faced by Nigerians.
Despite the order of the apex court, the Federal Government and the CBN went ahead to implement the policy.
Addressing reporters on the resolution of the meeting, which lasted for about three hours, APC Chairman Senator Abdullahi Adamu said the party, governors and the presidential candidate are on the same page.
He said: “I am sure you are quite aware of the fact that a meeting comprising of APC governors was held today and the leadership of the NWC of our great party was summoned and we had discussions and at the end of the discussions, we have resolved as follows and this resolution is without prejudice whatsoever to the case that is lying at the Supreme Court at this point. This has to do with the issue of currency redesign.
“We note very seriously that the programme and its implementation are causing tremendous difficulties to the people of Nigeria and the national economy.
“That, we urge the Attorney General of the Federation and the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria to respect the Supreme Court order of interim injunction, which is still subsisting.
“That the meeting is urging His Excellency, Mr President, to intervene in resolving issues that are causing this great difficulty to the economy”.
Chairman of the Progressive Governors Forum (PGF) and the governor of Kebbi state, Atiku Bagudu also said all the parties at the meeting endorsed the resolution.
He said: “We are on the same page. The APC Governors Forum, the NWC is one party. We are all together.
“The chairman (Abdullahi Adamu) said the governors and the party are the same and I am very proud about the conduct of our campaigns by our presidential candidate under the able leadership of our party, led by Abdullahi Adamu, and the DG of the Campaign Council and the governors alongside all our APC candidates across the country who have been doing a tremendous job of mobilizing Nigerians”.
The meeting which began at 2:35 pm was convened at the instance of the chairman to discuss the party’s preparedness for Saturday’s presidential and National Assembly Elections amid the worsening scarcity of the Naira and lingering fuel scarcity, which have fuelled mass discontent across the country.
Those who attended the meeting were Governors Simon Lalong (Plateau), Abdullahi Sule (Nasarawa), Abubakar Sani Bello (Niger), Nasir El-Rufai (Kaduna) and Yahaya Bello (Kogi).
Others are Mohammed Inuwa Yahaya (Gombe), Mai Mala Buni (Yobe), Bello Matawalle (Zamfara), Biodun Oyebanji (Ekiti), Babajide Sanwo-olu (Lagos), Atiku Bagudu (Kebbi) and Mohammed Badaru (Jigawa).
Govs. Aminu Bello Masari (Katsina) and Hope Uzodinma (Imo) sent their deputies.
Tinubu arrived at the meeting at about 5:15 pm.
A source at the meeting said the APC chairman, Adamu had expressed concern over the perceived confrontation of some governors with President Buhari over the controversial policy.
Adamu told the governors that their outbursts were putting the party in a bad light and advised against resorting to the media.
“However, one of the governors also reacted that if the party had taken a position on the matter before now, perhaps they (governors) would not have gone public. He complained that the meeting was coming too late,” the source said.
While declaring open the meeting, Adamu commended the governors for attending the meeting at a short notice.
He said: “I am happy with the response so far and it is my understanding that more of our members are still on their way coming. You will recall the recent developments that have necessitated the need for this invitation.
“We do not want to sit in judgment on anybody with regards to where we are today in the country as it affects our great party.
“I thought the best thing to do is to get all those who are holding forth in their respective positions and who were elected on the platform of the party to get together and have some interaction so that we can have a better understanding of what situation we are in.
“That is the essence of this invitation. And it is my pleasure to welcome you most sincerely to this interaction.”