Polls returning Tinubu, Obi as winners fake, says Kwankwaso’s running mate

Kachikwu accuses President of ‘destroying economy with wrong policies’

Vice Presidential candidate of the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP), Archbishop Isaac Idahosa, has dismissed surveys predicting victories for some aspirants vying for the nation’s topmost job in 2023.

He described the opinion polls on the forthcoming elections as fake and “paid for,” which should be disregarded by Nigerians.

Idahosa, who spoke yesterday at a colloquium organised by the Kwankwasiyya Development Foundation to mark the 66th birthday of his principal, with the theme, ‘Democracy and Good Governance in Nigeria: The Legacy of Dr. Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso’, recalled that few days ago, an organisation, Fitch Solutions Country Risk and Industry Research, predicted that the All Progressives Congress (APC) standard-bearer, Bola Tinubu, would triumph at the poll.

The subsidiary of Fitch Ratings, an international credit rating organisation, also added that Tinubu’s victory would trigger social instability and protests because of his same-faith ticket.

Also, a survey by NOI Polls in September returned Peter Obi of the Labour Party as the winner of the upcoming election.

But addressing journalists in Abuja, Idahosa rejected the Fitch report and similar polls, stating that his party would spring surprises nationwide, going by the political structures and alliances it is building across the federation.

MEANWHILE, the African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential flag-bearer, Dumebi Kachukwu, has described the planned redesigning of the Naira as an ill-timed policy, which will further erode the value of the currency against the American dollar.

Speaking in Abuja, yesterday, Kachikwu accused the President of “destroying the Nigerian economy with wrong and ill-timed policies that mostly benefit a few.”

He went on: “Millions are daily thrown into the poverty bracket. Our middle class has been wiped out as the dollar today exchanges for N800 and above. Diesel, which powers most businesses and industries, retails for around N900. A bag of local rice sells for N50,000 in some parts of Nigeria.

“A bag of Dangote cement retails for N4100. Mind you, cement is the building block for the construction industry and that same construction industry is a key driver of any economy.

“One begins to wonder if this government is deliberately trying to set a record of creating the greatest number of poor people in the shortest period possible.

“How do you explain the timing of the re-design of the naira? The sensible thing to do is weigh the pros and cons before taking such a decision, which has further weakened the naira.

“How many Nigerians actually store money in their homes as is being speculated? Do we further destroy the naira because of a few Nigerians?”

On the controversy between the Finance Minister and Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), which exposed the fact that some appointees of the current government were working at cross-purposes, Kachikwu submitted: “It further speaks to the confusion that goes on daily in President Muhammadu Buhari administration. The fact that the Minister of Finance, who is a key part of the economy and oversees it, got to know the policy of Naira redesigning through the media, says a lot about our country and the government.”