By Saxone Akhaine, Kaduna
Northern leaders have asked the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Godwin Emeifele, to extend the deadline of the expiration of the old naira notes as legal tender in the country, following the hardship Nigerians have been subjected to, in getting the new notes to transact businesses and meeting domestic economic needs.
The Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) and Arewa Youths for Development and National Unity (AYDNU) have opposed the timeline given by the CBN on the new naira notes, urging the apex bank to extend the deadline by 60 days.
The ACF Secretary General, Alhaji Murtala Aliyu in a statement, yesterday, in Kaduna, saidthat “as the deadline for the exchange expires on Tuesday, we are afraid that the majority of our people in the rural areas are unable to change their old currencies.”
“This is because even in the urban centres, the new notes are scarce,” he said.
Aliyu said: “Also, where the CBN made some arrangements to facilitate such, the exercise is being challenged by factors, including lack of adequate access to bank services, cumbersome exchange procedure among others. This has subjected innocent people to hardships, uncertainty and anxiety.”
He continued: “We strongly believe that ordinary people, especially in the North, will lose their hard-earned moneys through no fault of theirs. Government must be sensitive to the plight of the citizens to safeguard their interests in all areas.”
The ACF scribe noted that “insinuations by some political actors that the exercise is designed deliberately to fail, or cause chaos to sabotage the ongoing democratic process should not be allowed to be proven. Persons who loose their wealth through uncoordinated government policy or actions are likely to assume they have been let down by the said government.”
“We appreciate the efforts by the National Assembly to intervene and call to order the arrogance and insensitivity being displayed by the leadership of the Central Bank. ACF calls on the president and the CBN to as a matter of urgency extend the expiration date of the exercise and improve on the arrangements so as to accommodate everyone with genuine cases.”
Besides, AYDNU National Coordinator, Hamza Mohammed Haruna, who addressed a press conference at the Arewa House, said: “You are all aware of the untold hardship the insensitive monetary policy of the CBN under the watch of the deeply partisan governor, Godwin Emefiele has caused since it received the approval of the Federal Government last year for naira redesigning.”
According to him: “We wish to state that we are not against the policy of changing the nation’s currencies, but against the insane haste and intransigence of Emefiele to stick to the unrealistic deadline of January 31, 2023.”
“We were worried at the beginning that the three months’ window given for the currency swap was insufficient, even if all the variables necessary for a smooth currency change remained constant.”
“Our nation, sadly, suffers considerable deficit in banking infrastructure. As a result, there is a large population of fellow compatriots in the North and especially in rural areas operating outside the banking system, who are likely to be broken by this harsh unrealistic and unworkable policy”.
He continued: “The currency swap regime started in October 2022, with a window of six months. This period is inadequate. In developed countries such as the United Kingdom (UK), this process takes a minimum of three years with the old currency existing side by side with the old one. Presently, UK is undergoing a new currency change with the demise of the longest monarch, Queen Elizabeth II.”
“Here with all our obvious deficits, Emefiele is determined to bury the nation by insisting that the deadline is sacrosanct. The signs of a failing policy is all too apparent as up till this weekend, most commercial banks were still dispensing the old notes, confirming our apprehension that the deadline is not feasible.”
“We are of the opinion that the difficulty in accessing the new currency notes and the intransigence of the CBN governor to the deadline despite entreaties from eminent citizens and leaders of thought, among whom is His Eminence, the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Muhammadu Sa’ad Abubakar, is deliberate and meant to inflict damaging economic injuries on majority of Nigerians, especially those in rural Nigeria, who form 70 to 75 percent of the populace.”
“Having witnessed, first hand, Emefiele’s total disregard for calls, including the National Assembly to relax the January 31 deadline, we are convinced that Emefiele is an enemy of the state and a saboteur of the Buhari’s government.”
“We are convinced also that he is probably working in cohorts with elements in the opposition PDP. Resisting entreaties to extend the deadline of the currency swap for no justifiable reasons, is a wake up call for all Nigerians especially Northerners.”
“We urge the president to immediately sack this deeply partisan politician and incompetent regulator before he buries the entire nation,” the Arewa youths added.
Source: The Guardian
