Senator representing Kogi West in the National Assembly, Smart Adeyemi, has described the Naira Redesign policy of the Central Bank of Nigeria CBN as a calculated attempt to ridicule the ruling All Progressives Congress APC and its presidential candidate, Asíwájú Bola Tinubu ahead of Saturday’s presidential and parliamentary elections.
Adeyemi spoke on Monday in Abuja when he visited the National Secretariat of the party to obtain his N50 million Nomination and Expression of Interest Forms to participate in the April 10 Kogi State Governorship Primary Election of his party.
Adeyemi who said his experiences as a journalist and ranking lawmaker has prepared him for the onerous task of governance, added that he would ensure to put a stop to frivolous foreign trips by state officials, saying for the past nine years he has not travelled abroad.
He also dismissed the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party PDP, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, saying he is not in the equation for the presidential contest.
According to him, the presidential race is between Tinubu and Mr Peter Obi of the Labour Party who he said would come a very distant second.
He said; “I am supporting Asíwájú and Shettima not because they are APC but because of their past records and down contemporary issues in the Nigerian nation.
“We must commend the Northern Governors for supporting power shift to the South.
“Are you aware that Emefiele aspired for the presidency? When he lost out, he felt he had put in so much money in politics. So he wanted a cover and so he brought his cousin, Gov. Okowa to come and contest election and he bankrolled them. What audacity will a person (Atiku) who wants to be president of Nigeria ignore 5 of his own party governors? The audacity was not out of courage. The CBN governor should explain the role he played in the PDP convention and the emergence of Okowa. This is why Atiku cannot also remove the party chairman, Ayu because all of them were involved in the discussions which brought in Okowa.
“The Naira redesign was a calculated attempt to ridicule the APC government and manipulate the people to vote for the PDP but Nigerians are wiser today. They now know why you are having this problem. Why do you think a ruling party will work against the interests of the people who we are asking to reelect us?
“Why will anybody ask you to vote for Atiku? Was he not in charge of privatisation? Was he not the one who sold out assets to non performing companies? All those who do not know the history will be shouting Atiku. Atiku is not in the equation.
“Northern governors in the APC insisted on power shift to save Nigeria from crisis. History will forever be kind to them. This election is between Asíwájú and Obi. Atiku is not in the race. Atiku cannot be in the race. They brought this redesigning of our currency to ridicule APC. Asíwájú creates wealth. Atiku sold our wealth and resources. I pity Peter Obi because politics is it the way you are seeing it. Just yesterday, the entire Labour Party structure in the Northwest collapsed its structure for the APC. So, how is he going to win election? Maybe he is a man for the future but on this election, the strength is not there. It is beyond street politics. I am from Kogi. There is no Labour Party presence in my constituency. Winning election is about strategic thinking and planning not about talking too much”, he added.
Speaking on his ambition, Adeyemi promised an all-inclusive administration, saying he would place special emphasis on women, children and persons with disabilities.
He added that he would build technology hubs for the youth and ensure to consolidate on the achievements of the present administration in the state.
