Presidential election: is Buhari's Lafia declaration enough to crown Tinubu?

Bola Tinubu and the All Progressives Congress (APC) had a tumultuous days last week that led to predictions of implosion of the ruling party before or after the general election.

The campaign spent all week battling 'enemies' in the presidential villa, who it said were trying to sabotage the ruling party's chances at the polls by 'pushing the poor implementation of the overhaul Naira" and also accumulating gasoline.

The implementation of the cleanup of old naira notes created a shortage of money in circulation, which was naturally blamed on the APC-led federal government.

There have been pockets of protests in Oyo and Edo states. Amid the shortage of Naira, Mr. Tinubu during a campaign stop in Abeokuta, the capital of Ogun State, floated the idea of ​​a plot aimed at his target.

“Let the fuel be expensive; only they know where they kept it. Save the petrol, keep the naira, we will vote and be elected. will not happen. We will overcome,” he said in the Yoruba language.

Abeokuta's choice is striking, as it is in the same place that he made the famous "Emi Lokan" comment.

In Ekiti State, Mr Tinubu also claimed that some people were trying to use the scarcity of the naira to create a crisis that would frustrate the elections and pave the way for an interim government.

“They hoard the naira so you can be angry and fight. They want confusion so the election can be postponed. What they want is an interim government. But we are wiser than them. We won't fight. Any rat that eats rat poison will eventually kill itself," he said again in Yoruba at the Ekitiparapo pavilion in Ado-Ekiti.

While Mr Tinubu used the rally to air his views, other political associates used the TV stations to amplify his conspiracy theory. Within 72 hours of Mr Tinubu's speech in the Ekiti State capital, Kaduna State Governor Nasir Elrufai was on four different television channels where he alleged that elements within of the presidency were working against the government.

Governor Umar Ganduje Kano has claimed that Central Bank Governor Godwin Emefiele's policies are more of a revenge against the ruling party for stopping his presidential ambition. Ajuri Ngelale, President Buhari's senior special assistant, also accused Mr. Emefiele of giving the president false information to justify the policy.

Godwin Emefiele, Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). [Image from CBN Twitter account]

To further highlight the alleged political dimension of the CBN policy, Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi of the People's Democratic Party and Labor Party respectively, both voiced their support for the policy, although they highlighted how it can be more effective. .

Meanwhile, for a president whose main source of speech has been 'body language', many have interpreted the crisis within the party as confirmation of Mr Buhari's 'tactical opposition' to the candidacy of the former Governor of Lagos State.