The Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party
(PDP), Atiku Abubakar has urged the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) not to
succumb to blackmail.
Atiku charged CBN to immediately review the measures it has
put in place for ensuring the seamless circulation of the new naira notes to
alleviate the hardship confronting ordinary people across the country,
especially rural dwellers, who need cash for their daily transactions.
Atiku in a statement by his media office, in Abuja on
Wednesday, commended the CBN for listening to the demand of the ordinary people
by granting a ten-day extension for the exchange of the old naira notes for new
ones.
The former Vice President charged CBN not to consider
further extension after February 10 so as not to destroy the purpose and objective
of initiating the redesigning of the currency.
The statement read “The additional ten days will enable our
people in the rural areas and ordinary people across the country to take the
naira in their possession into the banks. It will also enable the CBN to
further circulate the new currency notes among banks so that people can have
easy access.
“Within these ten days, I urge the CBN to initiate measures
that will alleviate the problems being encountered by the people in exchanging
their old naira notes for new ones and getting more new notes into circulation.
The CBN may have to consider printing more currency notes to eliminate the
current scarcity among ordinary people, especially rural dwellers who need them
for their daily transactions.
“If the CBN thinks its officials and banks must operate at
the weekend to address the needs of the ordinary people and rural dwellers, it
may have to consider this option, after all the amount these people require is
not huge. The essential element here is ensuring that the new currency goes
around and is well distributed to the points where people can easily access
them. Every good policy must be people-centred and must not bring an avoidable
difficulty to the people.
“However, the CBN should be wary of the elite whose motive
for crying out about more postponement of the deadline for the tenure of the
old naira notes is sinister and far from being altruistic. I am totally in
support of building a cashless economy and reducing the amount of cash in our
economy.
“The cashless policy and reduction of the cash in
circulation has many advantages and every patriotic Nigerian should support the
CBN on this. It will help to reduce the flow of illicit funds in our economy.
It will help to defeat the funding of terrorism and deter the circulation of
drug money in our economy. It will help our fight against corruption.
“More importantly, a cashless economy will help to save and
grow our democracy. Those who have devised several means of buying votes in the
coming elections and using money to corrupt the electoral system as well as
destroying the principle of one man, one vote and the goal of a credible,
peaceful, free, and fair poll are the ones shouting against the cashless policy
and naira redesign.
“The anti-democratic elements who are pretending to be
democrats are the ones ganging up against the CBN because of the currency
redesigning and the cashless regime it seeks to enthrone. They have been
scheming and lobbying day and night to frustrate the policy. Now, their new measure
is to lobby for a second postponement of the deadline for the change of
currency. I urge the CBN and the government to ignore their antics. The CBN
should not succumb to the current pressure.
“There should be no further postponement of the new naira
regime after the expiration of the February 10 deadline. The vote riggers are
seeking to push the CBN to extend till after the election when they would have
achieved their evil plots. The CBN and the Presidency should be steadfast. The
merits of the new naira policy far outweigh the little inconvenience we are
experiencing”.
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