By G9ija

An urgent meeting has been summoned by Senator Abdullahi Adamu, the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, for the state governors belonging to the party on Sunday.

The statement read, “The National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, His Excellency, Senator Abdullahi Adamu, invites state governors of the party to an emergency meeting to be held on Sunday, February 19, 2023 by 2pm at the National Secretariat, Abuja.”

The reason behind the meeting is suspected to be the escalating tension between President Muhammadu Buhari and a group of dissatisfied governors concerning the naira redesign policy. This policy has been causing severe hardship to Nigerians for the past three weeks.

In certain states, the recent protests against the naira redesign policy have turned violent, resulting in the destruction of banks’ properties and fatalities.

The continuous shortage of cash, which is being attributed to the Central Bank of Nigeria, was already creating problems.

The situation was further aggravated when the President declared that the old N1,000 and N500 notes would no longer be considered as legal tender, despite the Supreme Court’s ruling in the opposite direction. Additionally, the President directed the CBN to permit the old N200 note to coexist with the new one.

Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State spoke to the residents of his state, hours after the President’s address on Thursday, he disagreed with the President’s position on the naira redesign policy.

Similarly, Governor Abdullahi Ganduje of Kano State and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, who are both members of the APC, criticized the President for his stand on the issue.

Governor Nasir El-Rufai claimed that the old N1,000 and N500 notes were still considered as legal tender in his state, and he argued that the naira redesign policy was implemented to thwart the general elections and pave the way for an interim government.

Recall that Governor Nasir El-Rufai, the governors of Kogi and Zamfara states, who are also members of the APC, filed a lawsuit against the Federal Government. They sought a restraining order to cancel the deadline on the usage of the old notes. Several other governors belonging to the APC also joined the lawsuit against the Federal Government according.

On Friday, the tension between the President and the governors increased after the APC Presidential Campaign Council issued a statement refuting allegations that the party’s presidential candidate, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, had urged some APC governors to ignore President Buhari’s directive regarding the naira redesign policy.

The Director of Media and Publicity for the APC PCC, Bayo Onanuga, dismissed the claims as fake news and emphasized that the information did not come from the PCC Adviser on Media and Communications, Mr Dele Alake, as it was alleged. Shortly after the PCC’s statement, the APC National Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka, declared that the National Chairman of the APC would have a meeting with all APC governors on Sunday.

The National Publicity Secretary of the APC, Felix Morka, did not reveal the purpose of the meeting, but sources suggest that it has a lot to do with the internal conflicts and rifts within the party.