Currency Printing: PDP condemns alleged concealment, deceit by FG

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has condemned what it called “game of deceit, falsehood and concealment of facts” on the alleged indiscriminate printing of N60 billion by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

It asked President Muhammadu Buhari to take responsibility for the damage being caused on the economy by the said printing. 

In a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan, the PDP called for the immediate removal of the Finance Minister, Zainab Ahmed, for allegedly attempting to conceal the facts about the printing. 

The PDP asserted that the admission by the CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, that ‘the apex bank has been printing money at the bidding of government’, has vindicated its earlier stand that the Buhari-led APC administration was characterised by concealments, deceit and falsehood.

The PDP flayed the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, for attempting to mislead Nigerians by denying the revelations by the Edo State Governor, Godwin Obaseki, that N60 billion was printed in March to support federal allocation to states.

The opposition party said: “Obaseki, as a financial expert, who is not known for flippancy, must be commended for his act of patriotism in exposing the dire economic situation into which our nation has been plunged by the Buhari administration.

“A situation where the Federal Government cannot articulate and implement policies favourable to wealth creation but resorting to borrowing and indiscriminate printing of currency notes, only goes to further confirm that the Buhari administration lacks the credibility and capacity to run a nation.”

The PDP further noted that the admission by the CBN governor that “Nigeria is unfortunately in a very bad situation” further justified its position that the Buhari-led APC administration has wrecked Nigeria’s economy, saying it was worried over the huge negative impact of indiscriminate printing of currency, which it noted, has led to the unprecedented rise in inflation rate to 18.17 per cent as disclosed by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) last Thursday.

“This situation has led to further economic hardship with surging prices and fallen purchasing power throwing millions of families in distress and unable to afford the basic necessities of life,” it added.

The PDP called out President Buhari to come clean on the amount that has been printed so far by the CBN to finance the deficit caused by the financial “mismanagement” of his government as well as what the funds had been used for, adding: “Furthermore, for failing the full disclosure test, the PDP demands that the Minister of Finance should immediately be relieved of her position, while the President accepts responsibility for the indiscriminate printing of currency in our naira.”

The party implored President Buhari to save the nation by allowing better hands to manage and salvage the economy before it is too late.

In a related development, the Edo State chapter of the party has thrown its weight behind Obaseki, calling on the Federal Government to end the country’s current monetary rascality with a view to preventing the prevailing economic challenge from degenerating further.

Addressing journalists in Benin City, its Chairman, Tony Aziegbemin, said the governor’s statement was a wake up call for all patriotic Nigerians and policy makers to put on their thinking caps before the situation gets out of hand.

Aziegbemin said the country’s economy was in dire need of surgical operation as expressed by the state governor, adding that the PDP believes and shares the same opinion with the governor.

Meanwhile, the Youth Party Nigeria (YPN), yesterday, urged the Federal Government to step up efforts to tackle insecurity, review some of its monetary policies and take urgent measures towards reforming key sectors of the Nigerian economy so as to tackle rising inflation and alleviate the sufferings of Nigerians.

In a statement made available to journalists in Benin City, YPN Chairman, Tomiwa Aladekomo, expressed disappointment over the alleged mismanagement of the economy by the Federal Government, which it noted has continued to drive inflation and unemployment up, thereby inflicting pain and hardship on citizens.

Aladekomo, while charging the government to support macroeconomic policies that would drive growth, further called for a deliberate policy of investing in infrastructure, among others, to ease the means of doing business in the country.

He noted that the APC-led government has failed to deliver real dividends of democracy to citizens of the country, adding that all indices of social and economic development in the country were in the negative.