Naira Saga: Stop shedding crocodile tears, APC must apologize to Nigerians— Oyo PDP tells Folarin
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Oyo state has berated the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the coming election, Senator Teslim Folarin, over a press release credited to him that circulated in a section of online media yesterday.
The ruling party described Folarin’s press statement as nothing but a window dressing and cosmetics, stressing that the federal lawmaker was indirectly insulting the sensibility of every resident in Oyo state and by extension the over 200 million Nigerians whose economic lives have been shattered due to the failure of the APC government.
A press statement by the ruling PDP in Oyo state signed by its Publicity Secretary, Akeem Olatunji and made available to newsmen on Saturday in Ibadan cautioned Folarin from making further provocative statements that could trigger a more serious consequence from the masses describing Folarin’s attempt to absolve APC from the harsh economic reality as merely a figment of his imagination stressing that Nigerians have become wiser to know APC for what it truly is and represents.
Consequent upon seeing the protests that rocked the state government Secretariat by angry and frustrated youths and other parts of Ibadan on Friday February 3, leaving a police officer at the governor’s office injured, properties vandalized and some banks attacked, Folarin hurriedly in a show of shame tantamount to shedding crocodile tears released a statement to the press blaming the Central Bank Governor, Godwin Emefiele for the scarcity of newly redesigned naira notes while trying to absolve the APC.
In Folarin’s words according to him press statement, “Having failed in his bid to succeed President Muhammadu Buhari, Mr. Emefiele moved to change the currencies without carrying along the National Assembly, state Governors, Ministers and other critical stakeholders. It is not an APC policy to change currencies but Mr. Emefiele is being used by economic saboteurs to turn the country upside-down.”
The ruling PDP in Oyo state regretted the untold hardship imposed on Nigerians by Folarin’s APC which has culminated into public rage and frustration which has now compelled Governor Seyi Makinde and other PDP candidates to suspend their carnival-like campaign rallies in order to solidarize with the people who could no longer take the pain of having money with no access to it as well as the mindless fuel scarcity, epileptic power supply, high cost of living among others.
Olatunji maintained that the senator’s statement was not only insensitive and unacceptable but also a clear acceptance of failure by Folarin and as such APC should cease immediately from going about renewing its 2014 lies in new dimension but should be courageous enough to publicly apologize to Nigerians for conspicuously messing up the socioeconomic livelihood of Nigerians with its spillover effect taking heavy tolls on Oyo state residents.
The ruling PDP wondered why Folarin and his APC in Oyo state have failed to campaign and tell the people of Oyo state in clear terms what they have as plan to do for the people if elected maintaining that the urge to become governor by Folarin was borne out of merely adding a new title to his name stressing that the lawmaker could not possibly have had any plan which was why it has become extremely tough if not impossible for him to go public with his campaign plan.
The ruling party in the state also described Folarin as being insincere to have appeared on radio earlier on Saturday to lay the fact bare to corroborate what Nigerians already know about APC being a party being a castle built in the air quoting the lawmaker as saying “this man (CBN Governor) did not consult the National Assembly. People should not see the programme as our (APC) policy. Though, he is supposed to be independent but what he is doing is very wrong.
“It is even wrong for Emefiele to have said he wanted to become the president of Nigeria. They started getting forms for him and when he discovered he would not get it, he started misbehaving.”
“Ordinarily we should have ignored Folarin’s press statement yesterday and his remarks on a Live radio program early Saturday but for the current situation and exigencies under the APC led federal government that have imposed untold hardship on our people in Oyo state leaving the youths with frustration that led them to aggressive protest in Ibadan yesterday, we seem it’s necessary and timely to address few issues raised by Folarin.
“First, the three term lawmaker in a bid to shed crocodile tears took his vituperation on the CBN Governor by singling him out for the mess the APC government has brought upon us and tried unsuccessfully to absolve his party. It is important for the likes of Folarin to know that Nigeria has reached a hardship level where the only duty owed the people especially in this campaign season is apologies.
“Secondly, Folarin who is a serving senator is expected to know that the CBN Governor could not have carried out any decision on monetary policy that has left Nigerians gasping for breathe without the approval of Mr President, who is the head of APC led federal government and as such, Folarin’s failed attempt to absolve the APC from the current harsh economic realities is not only laughable but very insulting on our our collective sensibility in Oyo state.
“We want to ask Folarin, who is the minister of petroleum and what cabals was he referring to in his statement supposedly interested in sabotaging the chances of APC in the coming elections? Folarin’s statement justifies the assertion that ‘silence is golden’. We’re more than disappointed and shocked to our very core Folarin and his cosmetic statement, indeed it is safe at this juncture to state that Oyo Central Senatorial seat in the red chambers has been a wasted slot similar to not even having a representative in the Senate from the Senatorial district.
“We make bold to say unequivocally, that Oyo APC still lives in obviously self inflicted illusion but the rejection of Folarin at Agodi Gate by angry disappointed and angry youths should have sent a very clear statement to a politically savvy politician and sensitive political party that you can not take the people for granted for too long and as such, Folarin should humbly withdraw from the race and immediately begin a statewide campaign of apology to seek the forgiveness of the agonizing masses.
“We also make bold to state clearly that, were it not for Makinde’s clear economic blueprints and his recovery plan codenamed Omituntun 1.0 under accelerated development agenda, Oyo would have been thrown into a more complex situation considering the needless and mindless distractions particularly during the peak of covid-19 pandemic. We owe Governor Seyi Makinde our gratitude for his selflessness and sacrificial commitment to stand Oyo state out as a truly pacesetter’ state amidst the crisis that has kept some other states in perpetual economic mess.
“We urge our God’s sent man to not tarry his ongoing campaign for too long as the good people of Oyo state have become more eager to know more about the Omituntun 2.0 Sustainable development agenda which will cement Oyo state as one of the economic hubs of Nigeria due to the critical infrastructures being put in place by Governor Makinde to attract investors from all parts of the world while urging the good people of Oyo state continue to support governor Makinde in order to deliver more dividends of democracy in his second term.”