President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration is plotting to instigate a military coup in Nigeria in order to avoid transferring power to a civilian administration when his tenure expires in May 2023, according to one of his allies and governor of Kaduna Nasir El-Rufai.

Mr El-Rufai’s statement on Thursday night marked a sharp escalation of the ongoing confrontation between states and the Buhari administration over the raging scarcity of new notes and petroleum products.

Mr El-Rufai, in a nationwide broadcast to Kaduna residents, said Mr Buhari has become desperate to ensure that Mr Tinubu does not emerge Nigeria’s president at the ballot box next month, saying it was the reason behind the sudden and chaotic attempt at withdrawing some important national banknotes from circulation.

“Once Asiwaju Bola Tinubu emerged as the candidate in June 2022 and subsequently did not pick one of them as his running mate, this currency redesign policy was conceived to ensure that the APC presidential candidate is deprived of what they alleged is a humongous war chest.

“They also sought to achieve any one or more of the following objectives:

“a. Create a nationwide shortage of cash so that citizens are incited to vote against APC candidates across the board resulting in massive losses for the Party in all the elections;

“b. Ensure that the cash crunch is so serious, along with the contrived and enduring fuel shortage existing since September 2022, that the 2023 Elections do not hold at all, leading to an Interim National Government to be led by a retired Army General;

“c. Sustain the climate of shortage of fuel, food and other necessities, leading to mass protests, violence and breakdown of law and order that would provide a fertile foundation for a military take-over,” Mr El-Rufai said.

A spokesman for the president did not immediately return a request seeking comments.

The announcement came hours after Mr Buhari addressed the nation on Thursday morning, saying his administration would consider relaxing the draconian currency redesign policy by allowing only the N200 notes to return to circulation. The N500 and N1,000 notes will not be returned as legal tender in Nigeria, Mr Buhari said.

Still, the president’s comment was an affront to a Supreme Court order on the controversy, which said all old notes should remain in circulation. Mr El-Rufai said Kaduna residents should disregard Mr Buhari’s position on the matter and obey the Supreme Court instead by continuing to see the notes as legal tender in the country.

Mr El-Rufai also said Kaduna residents should continue to spend the old naira notes, saying any banks that reject such transactions would be shut down.

“The Kaduna State Government and its agencies shall seal any facility that refuses to accept the old notes as legal tender and prosecute the owners,” Mr El-Rufai said. “If need be, we shall take further consequential actions according to the law.”