Thirteen out of the 18 registered political parties have
reportedly threatened to boycott the general election if the Central Bank of
Nigeria (CBN) extends the deadline for the use of old naira notes.
The apex bank fixed February 10 as the deadline for the use
of old naira notes.
The CBN had initially fixed January 31 as the deadline but
shifted it as many Nigerians were unable to access the new N200, N500 and
N1,000 notes.
Addressing a press conference in Abuja on Monday, Kenneth
Udeze, national chairman of the Action Alliance (AA), said the deadline already
fixed by the apex bank must not be shifted.
“We hereby announce
that at least 13 out of the 18 political parties in Nigeria will not be
interested in the 2023 general elections and indeed we shall withdraw our participation
from the electoral process if this currency policy is suspended or cancelled or
if the deadline is further shifted,” Channels quoted him as saying.
Atiku Abubakar, presidential candidate of the Peoples
Democratic Party (PDP), had also asked the
CBN not to extend the deadline for the swap of the old notes.
His comments elicited criticism from the All Progressives
Congress (APC), with the ruling party describing him as an “enemy” of Nigeria.
President Muhammadu Buhari on Friday asked Nigerians to give
him seven days to resolve the crisis caused by the scarcity of new naira notes.
The president said he has seen reports about cash shortages
and the effect on local businesses and ordinary people.
He said the remaining seven days of the 10-day extension
will be used to crack down on the encumbrances mitigating the successful
implementation of the currency redesign policy.
“I will revert to the CBN and the Minting Company. There
will be a decision one way or the other in the remaining seven days of the
10-day extension,” the president said.
His position was made known after the APC governors had
requested that the old and new notes should be allowed to co-exist.
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