Why Tinubu can’t convince Buhari over naira issue
The All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate, Mr. Bola Tinubu, has gone to meet President Muhammadu Buhari in the presidential villa over the naira issue. They are still holding their meeting at the time of filling this article.
But Mr. Bola Tinubu can only try, and he will do that in vain to convince the president. Till this moment, the motives for the step remains unclear less than two weeks to the general elections.
The candidate has been upset by the naira issue, perhaps out of thought that it would bounce on his own campaign. The All Progressives Congress wants to retain power and the naira issue can provoke the voters to oppose the All Progressives Congress.
The president seems rigid in this particular policy. He is giving the Central Bank of Nigeria governor the necessary support to move on with the redesigning of naira at the detriment of the people.
The Supreme Court of Nigeria has already ruled over the naira issue. The apex court said it’s wrong to ban the old naira notes. The court said Nigerians should continue to transact with the old notes.
This should have been the turning point for the president and the CBN governor Godwin Emefiele. However, after a brief meeting, the CBN turned a deaf ear to the warning from the apex court. The bank has even stopped the commercial banks from collecting the old naira notes.
If the Supreme Court failed to change the perspective of the president to order Emefiele, can Tinubu do anything different? Of course, the answer is clear. Tinubu is a citizen just like every other. He is a bit different because of privileges.
The council of state had also met over the same naira issue. The powerful, but advisory, body met with the president just last week. Even the presidency summoned the meeting when things were getting out of hands.
The council sympathized with Nigerians and came up with some suggestions. They could have really helped to douse tension and resolve the issue. The council said that the CBN should print more naira notes or recirculate the old ones.
The president and the CBN governor would rather shrug off the instructions given by the council of state. They both pressed on with their decision to pull out the old notes with insufficient new ones in circulation.
The president has looked away from both the court and the council of state. Would he then listen to Bola Tinubu over the naira issue?
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