TheCable

A group known as Arewa for Asiwaju says Bola Tinubu, standard bearer of the All Progressives Congress (APC), compelled the federal government to extend the deadline for the use of old naira notes.

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) had given a deadline of January 31 but extended it to February 10.

Speaking at a rally in Abeokuta, capital city of Ogun state, last week, Tinubu said the scarcity of petrol and change of the naira’s design would not affect his chances of securing victory.

“They don’t want the election to hold,” Tinubu had said.

“They want to disrupt it. Will you allow that? Will you vote?”

Aliyu Pass, the group’s coordinator, said in a statement on Monday that Nigerians owe Tinubu “immense gratitude” for weighing in on the situation.

“It was this courage and purposeful leadership shown by the Asiwaju that compelled the government to go back on its earlier ‘no going back’ statement,” Pass said.

“Whether anyone wants to believe it or not, it is the courageous sagacity displayed by Tinubu that invariably saved the Nigerian commoner from suffering the pains of the initial timeline set by the federal government for the unpopular new currency swap.

“And by that singular action, Tinubu also saved the nation from going up in flames as a consequence of the raging public anger that pervaded the atmosphere before the sudden 10 days extension.

“Tinubu, proving himself a great statesman, in his now famous Abeokuta declaration, took the bold and necessary step of alerting on the dangers inherent in the new naira policy, its timing, and deadline.

“Apparently rattled, the President invited Asiwaju to Daura where the man stood his ground insisting the policy was unnecessary, unpopular, and would only harm the common man and lead to greater conflict.

“The nation certainly owes Tinubu immense gratitude for stepping in and risking everything to save an obviously bad situation.”