PDP PCC claims that APC has old notes hidden away in safehouses for use in purchasing votes
Political parties and stakeholders have responded more strongly to debates on the benefits of the Central Bank of Nigeria’s Naira policy.
Governors who were chosen on the platform of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) earlier made a request to President Muhammadu Buhari to permit the co-circulation of both the old and new naira notes through the end of the year.
The governors made this statement on Friday, February 3, following a meeting with the president to discuss the cash shortage affecting all of Nigeria, which they claimed was endangering the administration’s “excellent records” in reshaping the economy.
The governors reportedly stated in a statement released by the presidential spokeswoman, Garba Shehu, that they supported the program and were persuaded of its motivations.
However, they raised worry about the harmful effects of the program, which have rendered Nigerians helpless.
The statement added that as party and state government leaders, “they told the president that they were growing concerned about the economic impact and the potential damage to our democratic process, particularly the next general elections.”
“They, therefore, requested that the president directs an adequate injection of the new notes and the continued utilisation of the old ones until the end of the year.”
In response, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential campaign council claimed that the APC governors had hidden agendas regarding CBN policy.
The PDP council’s spokesman, Daniel Bwala, claimed on AriseTV on Wednesday that APC politicians have amassed old money in safehouses across the nation in order to engage in vote-buying.
He claimed that this was the main reason they had petitioned the Supreme Court and put pressure on the President to suspend the mandate.
“Calls for an extension of the election schedule and the CBN’s naira swap policy are motivated by this worry. The security agencies will ask the President for a poll extension because all of these protests have intensified in APC-led states. To promote vote-buying, even El-Rufai instructed Kaduna locals to keep using the old notes.
“The APC is opposed to the proposal because it has old money kept in safe homes across the nation to be used for purchasing votes.
“These policies emanated from the APC government and they have fallen short in calling the President a moron. They said it is the Presidency manipulating him, which means they are saying the President lacks critical thinking. How does this connect to the PDP?
The withdrawal warnings issued by 13 political parties over the matter show that, aside from the APC, other parties support the Naira policy, according to Bwala.
