By our correspondent
Group operating under the aegis of Leaders of Political Parties in Nigeria said it received the news of the issuance of new Naira notes for the higher denominations of N200, N500 and N1,000 by the Central Bank of Nigeria.with excitement.
In a statement issued in Abuja yesterday, the National President of the group, Prince Bulus John said the group said it has followed and monitored the comments of experts on the immense benefits of the policy on the Nigerian economy it concur with that.
However, it said as leaders of political parties in Nigeria and concerned that there is an impending general election within the next four months, “we viewed the policy from the prism of its effect and implications on the election and on that basis we praise the policy on issuance of new banknotes.”
“The support for the policy is on the basis that the apex bank insists on not shifting the deadline date of 31st January, 2023. We urge the people of Nigeria to stand with the CBN Governor and demand that the set date becomes sacrosanct. There is nothing like the window is too short. It does not require a month for one to take money to the bank except there is something they are hiding.
“We consider that this policy is the most fatal blow to vote buying and vote buyers in Nigeria and if as we believe is properly implemented, the 2023 general election will be determined by the actual votes of the people since the BVAS machine also introduced by INEC will expectedly remove all incidents of ghost voters and result sheet snatching while ensuring electronic transmission of results straight from the Polling Units and also electronic accreditation of all voters such that number of voters electronically accredited will not be less than the number of votes cast.
“We call on all Nigerians to contribute their support in whatever way so as to ensure that vote buyers do not use their illegal money to buy the opinions of the people against the policy. In like manner we urge the buy in of the media to once again stand with the Nigerian people in supporting this policy so that the date is not extended beyond the already set date.
“With the cleaning of the voter register which INEC has done, the deployment of the BVAS and now with the fatal blow on vote buying, Nigerians can have confidence that the 2023 elections will be free and fair.
“All the cash which has been stashed in various warehouses will now have to go back to the banks and we urge that the CBN also resists pressure to print large volume of cash. Electronic transfer of money should be encouraged now and we call on all relevant security agencies to be vigilant in identifying politicians who have questions to answer when the return billions which they cannot explain their sources. Whistleblowers should also be on the lookout because many tanks, private vaults and cases where Naira had been stashed in the past will be opened soon.
“We appreciate and applaud the courage of the Governor of CBN, Mr. Godwin Emefiele. We urge him not to rest on his oars and we declare that by this singular move he has deservedly become the hero of the 2023 general election.
“It is our expectation also that having obtained the approval of the President to implement this very laudable policy, the ruling party makes a commitment not to put pressure on the leadership of the apex bank to alter the deadline as it will go to the root of the integrity of the election and the validity of the results which will emerge from it.
Thank you Mr. Governor. You are a great man and Nigerians will forever declare you the hero of the 2023 general election”, the statement added.
