The Nigerian Government has accused opposition political parties of politicizing the naira scarcity Nigerians are facing, adding that they prefer to make Nigerians suffer.
Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, stated this at the 23rd edition of President Muhammadu Buhari’s (PMB) administration scorecard series (2015-2023).
The accusation is coming after 13 Nigerian political parties said they will withdraw from participating in the electoral process if these currency policies are suspended or cancelled.
The alleged politicization: Lai Mohammed said President Buhari has already held a meeting with governors of his All Progressives Congress (APC). He also urged Nigerians to give him a seven-day window to resolve hiccups in the implementation of the new naira scheme.
While reacting to the lawsuit, the Minister said:
- “The court action came after a number of opposition parties threatened to boycott the 2023 general elections if the deadline was extended.
- “These curious actions by the parties concerned are clear evidence that the opposition has turned this whole issue into a political game, preferring to make Nigerians suffer more on the altar of unconscionable political gamesmanship.
- “Or how else can one explain the fact that these unscrupulous opposition parties do not want any action that could reduce the pains being experienced by Nigerians?’’
Mohammed accused the opposition parties of playing dirty politics by putting their interests over and above the interests of Nigerians, citing their actions would not save the political parties from losing at the polls because voters had already seen that they were the real enemies of the people.
What you should know: Nairametrics reported that Thirteen political parties out of the 18 political parties in Nigeria have threatened to withdraw from participating in the February 25 and March 11, 2023, general elections, if the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) extends the February 10 deadline for the naira swap.
This was made known on Monday by the National Chairman of the Action Alliance, Kenneth Udeze, on behalf of the coalition of chairmen of political parties, during a press briefing, saying that the parties won’t be interested in the elections if the new deadline of February 10, 2023, is shifted again as demanded by APC governors.
Also Kaduna, Zamfara, and Kogi States dragged the Federal Government to Supreme Court over the scarcity of old and new Naira notes due to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)’s naira redesign policy.
The state governments who said they are worried by the effects the CBN naira redesign policy is having on the residents of their states, are seeking a restraining order by the Supreme Court to compel the government and CBN from implementing the policy.