Thirteen of the 18 political parties have threatened to withdraw from the February 25 and March 11 general elections due to the Central Bank of Nigeria(CBN)’s naira redesign policy.
Kenneth Udeze, National Chairman of the Action Alliance, stated this at a briefing by a Coalition of Chairmen of Political Parties on Monday in Abuja.
Udeze stated that if the apex bank’s naira redesign policy is suspended or cancelled, the 13 parties will withdraw from the 2023 electoral process.
He added that they will boycott the upcoming elections if the new deadline of February 10 for the phase-out of old naira notes is pushed back further, as some APC governors have demanded (APC).
The AAC chairman, on the other hand, stated that the parties praised President Muhammadu Buhari for redesigning the N200, N500, and N1,000 banknotes.
According to Udeze, the 13 parties also chastised the governments of Kaduna, Kogi, and Zamfara for petitioning the Supreme Court for a court injunction to extend the deadline for the validity of three old notes.
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 the currency policies are suspended or cancelled or if the deadline is further shifted.