Wike meets Tinubu, reaffirms opposition to naira redesign

The Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, on Wednesday wondered if the All Progressives Congress (APC) wants the country’s general elections to go ahead as scheduled amid the controversies trailing the redesign of the naira notes by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

Wike spoke when the APC presidential candidate, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, visited him at the Government House in Port Harcourt, the state capital.

Governors Atiku Bagudu (Kebbi), Babajide Sanwo-Olu (Lagos), David Umahi (Ebonyi), the National Chairman of APC, Adamu Abdullahi, former Ekiti State Governor, Kayode Fayemi, and the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva, were also at the meeting.

The redesign of the naira has generated controversy across the country with youths protesting the scarcity of cash in banks and Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) points.

There are insinuations that Wike has been working for Tinubu’s success in the election following his decision to boycott the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) campaign rallies alongside four others.

The four other governors are Seyi Makinde (Oyo), Samuel Ortom (Benue), Okezie Ikpeazu (Abia), and Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi (Enugu).

READ ALSO: PDP slams Wike’s withdrawal of venue, accuses him of working for Tinubu

The quintet had listed the resignation of the PDP national chairman, Iyorchia Ayu, as a pre-condition for the support of the party’s presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, in this month’s election.

In his address at the meeting, the governor blamed the Federal Government for the naira scarcity.

He added that the policy was politically motivated.

Wike said: “Do you people really want this election to take place or not? Or do you have an agenda to truncate this election? I don’t know. Look at what (protests) happening in Oyo, Edo, and Delta. See what is going on.

“I believe your party should make sure this election holds. You people are in power, ensure that this election holds. Nobody can solve the issue of corruption in two, or three months. It is not possible. This thing is purely politically motivated.”

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