New Naira Notes: 13 Parties Demand No Extension on CBN Deadline
Thirteen political parties in Nigeria have said they will pull out of the 2023 elections if the Central Bank of Nigeria extends the deadline for the new notes.
Their intentions were made known on Monday, at a briefing by a coalition of chairmen of political parties. The parties, however, commended President Muhammadu Buhari on the redesign of the N200, N500 and N1,000 banknotes.
There has been calls for the CBN to extend its new deadline of February 10, 2023, for the old notes, the “13 parties” has however made it’s intentions clear.
Briefing journalist, the National Chairman of the Action Alliance, Kenneth Udeze, said, “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 policies are suspended or cancelled or if the deadline is further shifted.”
Udeze did not disclose the names of the 13 political parties.
The “13 parties” also criticized the governments of the states of Kaduna, Kogi, and Zamfara for approaching the Supreme Court in an effort to obtain a court injunction extending the deadline for the validity of three old notes.
Recall that the Apex Bank had fixed a January 31 deadline for the validity of the old notes, but it later extended to February 10, after calls from various quarters. Meanwhile, President had met with some APC governors and asked for seven days to make a major decision on the policy.
Amidst the deadline, there has been a massive outcry over the shortage of the new currency. The CBN has also ordered banks to start paying the new currency over the counter against the previous ATM withdrawals which were accessible and overly crowded.
