Kano Governor Abdullahi Ganduje on Thursday said President Muhammadu Buhari did not achieve anything throughout his eight years in office, and is now determined to ruin the All Progressive Congress (APC) before leaving office in May 2023.

In a televised discussion on Thursday, Mr Ganduje, who spoke in Hausa, reminded the people how Mr Buhari had failed in his three previous attempts before 2015 when political parties merged to form APC and dislodge the Peoples Democratic Party from office.

Mr Ganduje further stated that Mr Buhari has had no tangible achievements to point out throughout his stay in office but had instead decided to destroy the party that brought him into power.

“In the first term, nothing of great importance can point out as his achievement, same as in his second term. So, why is he bringing out all these policies now? why not seven years ago? He just wants to collapse the party that produced him,” he said.

“How could care for Nigerians and then propose such a policy as the naira redesign? Why not seven years ago or after the election? This shows he is not a good leader; if he is, he would not remain calm seeing people setting properties on fire out of frustration,” the Kano governor added. “This is why we went to the court and stand against them because we know that their motive is to prevent free and fair elections. By God’s grace, all of their efforts will be in vain because we will reverse all these policies as soon as we win the election.”

The APC stalwart also mentioned that he would adhere to orders of the Supreme Court that recognised continuous usage of old naira notes, even as the presidency and the Central Bank of Nigeria, (CBN) are asking the banks to stop accepting the notes because they had ceased to be legal tender in Nigeria.

“People’s businesses are suffering, and you are asking for more time. I’ve ordered the closure of any supermarket that rejects old naira notes. Supreme Court recognizes the notes, and you are asking banks not to accept the notes. Who is more powerful between the Court and them?” Mr Ganduje, an ally of the president, said.

A spokesman for the president did not return a request seeking comments about the Kano governor’s comments on Thursday night. The attack came as other members of the president’s party were intensifying their pushback again the decision to delist N200, N500 and N1,000 banknotes across the country. The politicians, mostly governors of the ruling party, said Mr Buhari’s action was designed to plunge the nation into chaos.

Governor Nasir El-Rufai said the Buhari administration was working towards a military coup in Nigeria, saying an army general had already been pegged down to lead an interim government when Mr Buhari’s tenure ends on May 31. The president has denied any nefarious motives behind the policy, saying it was designed to curb money laundering and vote buying during the upcoming general elections.