The People’s Democratic Party (PDP) has implored the leaders of the All Progressives Congress (APC) including its Presidential candidate, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu and APC State governors to immediately release billions of new Naira notes in their custody.
The opposition party said the ruling party and its presidential candidate are subjecting Nigerians to hardship and anguish by hoarding naira notes.
The PDP described the APC-led government move as wicked and unpardonable that the same band of deceptive, sneaky and hypocritical APC leaders who are deeply involved in intercepting and hoarding new Naira notes is going about trying to hoodwink Nigerians by posturing as though they are concerned about their plight.
The party, in a statement by its spokesman, Hon. Debo Ologunagba said it is instructive to state that the controversial Naira redesign and swap policies are programmes of the APC administration which is also completely in control of the production and circulation of the new notes.
“The APC leaders having realized that they cannot win in the 2023 general elections, sabotaged the system and diverted the new Naira notes to create widespread social unrest to justify their plan to derail the elections and truncate our democracy,” PDP said.
The party said it has been informed by some well-meaning APC members on how six APC State governors led by a particular Governor of a prominent State in the North West region are coordinating the hoarding of new Naira notes for the vote-buying scheme of the APC ahead of the February 25, 2023, Presidential election.
The party said it has also been made aware of how APC governors are allegedly warehousing the new Naira notes in facilities owned by APC interests in Lagos, Kano, Kogi, Kaduna, Imo and other parts of the country for the purpose of vote-buying for Senator Tinubu in the Presidential election.
“Nigerians can recall that the APC was recently busted in the process of swapping the sum of N22.5 billion in old N1000 notes for new ones in Kano State for vote buying, in a deal wherein a substantial part of the old notes was allegedly conveyed to Lagos State for secret swapping with new notes.
“It is therefore callous for APC leaders to continue to watch Nigerians spend nights at ATM stands, fight one another in bank halls and ATM centers for cash with millions stranded without money to take care of their daily needs,” the party said.
The PDP called on Nigerians to hold the APC and its leaders directly responsible for the pain, economic hardship, social dislocation and psychological distress they are going through on account of APC-induced cash scarcity in the country.
The party said that APC has again demonstrated that it is the party of very cruel, insensitive and self-centered politicians, who relish inflicting pain, anguish, and life-discounting situations on the citizens in the last seven and half years of the APC administration.
“Our Party, therefore urges Nigerians not to allow the deception, lies and shenanigans of the APC to detract them from their collective resolve to end the era of misery in our country by voting Atiku Abubakar as the next President of Nigeria so that he can commence the onerous task of rebuilding our nation from the abysmal misrule of the vicious APC,” the party said.