The presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, has said the scarcity of the Naira was causing widespread anxiety across the country.
He said this is arising from the poor execution of the naira redesign policy by commercial banks in the country.
Atiku made the declaration in a statement by his media aide in Abuja on Tuesday, saying the Federal Government must impress on the commercial banks not to constitute themselves into stumbling blocks on “the well-thought out policy of naira redesign.
He praised the Federal Government for the policy and to work behind the scenes, based on the intelligence it is believed to have received, regarding suspicions that some presidential candidates may have stashed billions of naira as war-chest for vote-buying.’’
According to him, “businesses and cash-dependent small holder enterprises are all currently in serious distress. This should be addressed urgently to save the economy from collapse.’’
Atiku said he had on Jan. 28, made a crucial intervention on the redesign of the naira, calling on the Federal Government and the CBN to consider adjusting the deadline date, to address the challenges being faced by members of the public.
He told the Federal Government not to allow Nigerians to be made scapegoats “in the ongoing battle of titans over the redesign of the naira’’.
Atiku accused the government of mismanaging the policy , unlike what obtained in other parts of the world, where similar policies were implemented.
According to him, millions of Nigerians are being driven into grave desperation and despondency on account of the shortcomings of the execution of the policy.
“In recent weeks, social tension has been growing across Nigeria on account of the poor management of the redesign of the naira policy,’’ the presidential hopeful added.
