2023: Lai Mohammed reacts to El-Rufai’s alleged Presidency plot against APC

By Harry Awurumibe, Editor Abuja Bureau

Nigeria’s Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed has debunked the insinuation that the Presidency is not in tandem with the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) as regards to the party retaining power at the center by winning the 2023 general election at all levels. 

Mohammed who was fielding questions from State House Correspondents after the weekly Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari said any suggestion to the fact the Presidency is not working together with the APC is far from the truth.

The Minister was reacting to the allegations levelled against the Presidency by Kaduna state governor Mallam Nasir El-Rufai who said some people in the Presidential Villa, Abuja are working against the  interest of APC.

He also blamed some of the government policies including the Naira redesign and persistent fuel scarcity in the country on 5th Columnists whom he accused of working hard to cause unrest in Nigeria leading up to the 2023 general election to undermine the APC led federal government. 

“The policy of currency redesign is the idea of few people in the Presidential Villa who are aggrieved after their candidates lost in the APC primary election. APC never promised Naira redesign to Nigerians.

“This is not the right time to embark on such exercise because most part of the areas in Nigeria have no banking facilities. Fifth Columnists in the Presidency are working against APC interest”, the former Minister of Federal Capital Territory (FCT) alleged on Channels Television breakfast programme Sunrise Daily monitored in Abuja on Wednesday morning.

But the Minister of Information and Culture has poured cold water on the talk of the Presidency working against APC, saying that it is on record that President Buhari has always maintained that he is keen on free, fair and credible  elections in Nigeria irrespective of being a member of the ruling party. 

Said he: “President Muhammadu Buhari is favourably disposed to giving Nigerians free, fair and credible elections in 2023. He has said it time and time again,  both within and outside the country. 

If there are other people working against APC in the Presidential Villa, I  don’t know about it”.