The Arewa Democratic Movement (ADM) has called on President Muhammadu Buhari to declare emergency rule in Kaduna State to forestall a breakdown of law and order.
The coordinator of the group, Comrade Ali Musa Nasir, stated this in a statement issued at the weekend in Kaduna in the wake of comments credited to the Kaduna State governor, Nasir El-rufai, urging residents to ignore Buhari’s ban on the use of old N1000 and N500 notes across the country.
The governor had recently directed residents of the state to transact with the old notes as legal tender. He threatened to sanction any individual or corporate organization that rejects the old naira notes.
El-Rufa’i also made a special broadcast to the people of the state countering President Buhari’s special broadcast to the nation on Thursday, a situation the group described as treasonable and a recipe for chaos.
Reacting to the development, ADM in the statement said the Kaduna governor’s action was illegal, adding that only the federal government through the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has the sole right and responsibility to make monetary policies for the country.
According to the group, the governor usurped the functions of the federal government through his actions and utterances, saying the development portends security threats to the country if left unattended to by the government at the centre.
It is unfortunate that both Governor el-Rufa’i and others are allowing themselves to be used by some unscrupulous elements to cause chaos in the country through their actions and utterances in order frustrate the incoming general elections. We initially thought they would back down on their argument and agitations but recent events have proved us all wrong.
“There seems to be more to this than meet the eyes because their calls are capable of generating tension in the country as there would now appear to be two authorities regulating currency management. This is a recipe for chaos,” Nasir said.
