The Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Festus Keyamo, says Nigeria’s opposition parties have scored an own goal by refusing to take side with the masses on the naira redesign policy of the Central Bank of Nigeria.
The Senior Advocate of Nigeria said this when he featured at the News Agency of Nigeria Forum in Abuja on Sunday.
Keyamo, also the spokesperson for the All Progressives Congress Presidential Campaign Council, said the opposition failed to align with the Nigerian masses on the matter.
He said: “Now you see a situation that we found ourselves.
“A very convoluted and confusing situation.
“A situation where the government policy on naira redesign is affecting the masses negatively because of wrong implementation and wrong timing.
“Instead of the opposition siding with the masses and urging them to vote out the ruling party, it is now the opposition that is telling people to be patient.
“It is the same opposition that is telling Nigerians that (President Muhammadu) Buhari is an honest man and he meant well for the country.
“They have over dribbled themselves and scored an own goal in the process.”
Keyamo said the opposition turned the entire issue into politics and ended up shooting themselves on the foot.
He added: “They perceived that the policy was crippling Senator Bola Tinubu, the APC presidential candidate, because they see everything as politics.
“In their bid to heat Tinubu, they now decided to go against Nigerian masses.
“This is where they over dribbled themselves.
“Meanwhile, Tinubu, who is in the ruling party, has spoken against those implementing the policy to say that they are sabotaging the policy.
“So, the masses now see Tinubu as their hero.”