NAIRA REDESIGN: CONSIDER THE MASSES, TEAMNIGERIA4CHANGE URGES BUHARI
A socio-political group, TeamNigeria4Change has urged the Federal Government to consider the plight of Nigerians first in the implementation of the recently introduced new Naira redesign and its implementation which has left many Nigerians reeling in pains and has resulted in pockets of civil protests and breakdown of law and order across the nation.
Speaking in Lagos, the President of the group, Bestman Jumbo-Nze call on President Muhammadu Buhari to consider the untold suffering the Naira redesign has caused Nigerians in the last couple of days and urged him to prevail on the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, Godwin Emefiele rescind the decision of the apex bank on allowing the old Naira notes to be accepted as a legal tender across the country.
According to Jumbo-Nze, on the heel of a general election starring the nation in the face, there is a need for a long window for the acceptance of the old note and also the implementation of the policy should be phased, such that the direct negative impact on poor and unbanked Nigerians can be reduced to its barest minimum. He further opined that, from time immemorial, people have been known to always want to have physical cash with them during election periods, and also are known always stock up their homes with necessities like food stuff out of apprehension of election outcomes, and now barely days to the general election, they cannot even access the money they have kept in banks.
Speaking further, the marketing communication and alternative security expert said the rumors making the round that the Naira redesign was one of the means by which some elements within APC to frustrate the presidential ambition of the party’s flag bearer, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu is laughable.
According to him, even if Tinubu is the target, should common Nigerians on the street be made to suffer just to get at one man?
In his words ‘’I find it laughable that people are saying the Naira redesign is aimed at getting at Tinubu, but let us even assume that is the case, should the average man on the street be made to suffer and go through this current agony just because of one man? Isn’t it even an indictment on the current government that any man can be allowed to have access to such humongous money and the government is unable to bring him to book? I think our government can do far better than to inflict this much pain on the citizenry, this situation has to be arrested as soon as possible as a breakdown of law and order out of frustration just days before the general election doesn’t not speak well of the President Buhari administration’’.
TeamNigeria4Change has been in the forefront of advocacy and campaign towards a better electoral process since it was formed 8 years ago.
Recently on January 13, 2023, the group held a voters’ sensitization and education program in Lagos tagged ‘Know Your Rights, Vote Right. The event had in attendance representatives of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Civil Right groups as well as political actors from the leading political parties.
