Naira Crisis: PRP, Akeredolu tell Buhari to retract Ill-conceived policy, sack CBN gov

Threaten To Sue CBN Over Denial Of Access To Funds
The Peoples Redemption Party (PRP) has threatened to sue the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) over the naira redesign, saying as a political party, it has been denied access to its funds to prosecute the 2023 elections.

It, therefore, asked the Federal Government to reverse its Naira Redesign Policy, which it said, has brought untold hardship to Nigerians, including political parties.

The National Chairman of PRP, Alhaji Falalu Bello, stated this at the presentation of the party’s manifesto to the media in Abuja at the weekend.

The manifesto, a six-point agenda, dwelled on revamping the economy, promoting education and human capital development, national unity, and genuine federalism, enhancing national security, and revamping the extractive industry, oil, gas, and solid minerals.

The PRP chairman said that the withdrawal of over N2 trillion from circulation and printing of just N300b by the CBN was a recipe for the crisis the country is currently passing through.

He stated: “Any policy that denies the citizens access to their money is not a good policy. It (the Naira Redesign Policy) is a man-made crisis, which is avoidable. For the failure of this policy, which made and still makes Nigerians suffer, we ask that the CBN Governor honourably resign, failing which the president should fire him.

“As a registered political party in Nigeria and a juristic person, the PRP has been denied access to its credit balances in banks on supposed order of the CBN that has disallowed withdrawal beyond N20,000.00 across the counter.

“This order, we must say is an illegal one, and we are testing the powers of both the banks and the CBN from denying us access to our credit in court and will ask for punitive damages.”

The PRP chairman further insisted that the president must address the alleged fraud going on in the oil industry before leaving office in three months’ time.

He lamented the last eight years of President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration had witnessed continuous growth in petroleum subsidy, which he said the president himself had tagged a fraud.

The PRP chairman, presenting a 34-page manifesto titled ‘Compact With The People: Manifesto Of The PRP For 2023 Election’ said the party has what it takes to address the problems the country is presently passing through under the All Progressives Congress (APC).

The PRP presidential candidate, Kola Abiola, said that the party would be accountable to the people.

“We are here because we want to serve the interest of the common man, mentor the next generation as well as correct the wrong in the past. In the next four years, Nigerians would see a different Nigeria. We live and stand by our manifesto,” Abiola stated.

Meanwhile, Ondo State Governor, Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, has appealed to President Muhammadu Buhari to put a stop to the needless drift of chaos the country is currently sliding into over the currency policy of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

While iterating that the order of the Supreme Court still subsists over the naira swap, Akeredolu disclosed that it would be more honourable for Buhari to rescind the currency policy, which the governor described as ill-conceived and counter-productive.

In a statement titled “Mr. President Should Halt This Seamless Drift,” made available to The Guardian, yesterday, by his Chief Press Secretary (CPS), Richard Olatunde, the governor stressed that as a statesman, the safety of the people should be the ultimate goal.

According to him, the implementation of the policy had been woeful, adding that the crises engendered by the policy of the CBN to redesign some of the currency notes could disrupt the forthcoming general elections.

He said: “The events of the past few days, culminating in the intervention of the apex court in the land and the increasing gale of violence sweeping through the country, portend serious danger to the current democratic governance. Consequently, this period invites all patriots to speak out with a view to proposing practicable solutions and not projecting cheap partisan interests.

“I seize this opportunity to appeal to the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, President Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR, to play the role of a statesman at this crucial moment. It is apparent that the crises that the current policy on currency swaps has created continue to spiral menacingly.

“There is incontrovertible evidence bordering on miscalculation, error of judgment, and/or disinformation on the part of the policymakers, especially the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr. Godwin Emefiele, on the failed implementation of the policy, the effect of which compels the whole country to groan immeasurably at present.

“There is hardly anyone who contends with either the statutory functions of the CBN or the occupier of the office of its governor, one of which is monetary policy. It is also not debatable that the President and the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Nigeria are empowered, under our law, to exercise certain executive powers. It can, however, not be the original intention of the drafters of the relevant statutes that the implementation of any policy should occasion widespread hardship and pervasive agony in the land.”