Bola Tinubu, standard bearer of the All Progressives
Congress (APC), says he has nothing against the naira redesign policy “in
principle”.
Tinubu, in a statement on Sunday, said his concern is about
the hardship Nigerians are facing as a result of the cash scarcity.
He expressed solidarity with those affected by the scarcity
at the grassroot level, adding that they have felt the brunt of petrol shortage
and scarcity of new naira notes.
“While the scarcity arising from the supply limitations of
the new naira notes is still with us, we are encouraged about reports that the
fuel queues across the country are easing out as a result of better supply to
fuel stations,” the statement reads.
“We are now
confronted with how to bring quick, sustainable solution, and relief to
Nigerians on the challenges still posed by the non-availability of new Naira
notes, so that social and economic activities can move on unimpeded and
normalcy can immediately return to our financial services sector and overall
productivity of our nation.”
On February 10, members of the council of state had asked
the apex bank to make new naira notes available or recirculate old notes to
ease the suffering of Nigerians.
Tinubu supported the position of the council, saying “we
agree with the wisdom of the council of states as a necessary starting point to
begin redressing the unintended consequences of what would have otherwise been
a good policy that required mainstream adoption”.
Furthermore, Tinubu clarified that the duo of himself and
Kashim Shettima, his running mate, as well as the APC campaign council, have
nothing against the naira redesign and cashless policies.
“For the records, I and my running mate, Senator Kashim
Shettima and our campaign council do not have anything against the CBN Naira
redesign and cashless policy in principle,” he said.
“We are, however, only concerned about its disruptive
implementation and the hardship it has brought on the generality of our people
who currently can’t access their hard-earned money to meet obligations and the
attendant consequences on the informal sector, where majority operate.
“Despite the challenges and current difficulties, we are a
country of resilient, bold and courageous people who don’t succumb to hard
times.
“We have always
overcome our most difficult times and come out better as a people and a nation.
This time will not be different. We will make lemonade out of our current
lemons.”
Tinubu asked the CBN to take the council of state’s
recommendations into consideration in order to provide immediate relief to the
populace.
“The CBN should announce that the old and new Naira notes
(especially the non-withdrawn notes and coins) will co-exist as legal tender
for the next 12 months to follow examples of countries that have successfully
implemented similar monetary policy,” he said.
“This will immediately remove growing tension in the
country, eliminate panic reactions by the populace and allow time to scale up
infrastructural gaps around alternative payment options to cash.”
Also, he called for the immediate suspension of associated
charges on online transactions, bank transfers, and payments via POS, until the
current crisis is fully resolved.
“This cost should be considered a roll-out expense by the
CBN to incentivise the envisaged shift to alternative transaction channels; for
both the financial services consuming public and those in charge of
implementing the scale-up programme,” he said.
Furthermore, he called for the mobilisation of all deposit
money banks and payment platforms to show clear commitment and timelines on
expanding their infrastructure and support services.
“Bring in Fintech companies with capabilities into currency
swap programme for the next 90 days to help decongest banking halls and ATM
points where people line up for hours,” the presidential candidate added.
“The Central Bank and
other relevant MDA’s should form an Inter-Agency Action Committee for immediate
oversight over the cash supply gaps from the Nigerian Security and Minting
Company and deal with issues around capabilities and turn around time to meet
the needs of the informal sector and unbanked people.
“The CBN, National Orientation Agency and Ministry of
Information, State and Local Governments with their relevant organs in both the
public and private sectors should commence a major public enlightenment and
sensitisation campaign to further educate and empower our people on the new
naira and cashless policy for better understanding and mainstream adoption.”
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