The tension in the nation, which has been partly caused by the currency swap that has resulted in the continued cash problems that the people are suffering, has drawn the attention of a public policy think tank, the NEO AFRICANA CENTRE (NAC). While the Center acknowledged that it is concerned about the shortage of both the old and new Naira notes, it emphasized the need to appropriately frame the issue so that Nigerians may understand what the true issue is.
According to NAC, the ongoing crisis of trust regarding the true intentions of the government on the program is the result of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC)’s attempt to use enormous amounts of cash for vote-buying, a plan that was thwarted by the currency exchange. Contrary forces gathered inside the APC have used deception and propaganda to make the new policy appear harsh, despite the government’s best efforts to defend the decision.
Jenkins Udu, the Center’s Director of Public Affairs, issued a statement urging Nigerians not to be duped by those who disguise their true intentions while acting in the public’s best interest. The Centre further stated that those opposing the Naira swap policy are people and institutions who have accumulated Naira notes for uses that are not in the public’s best interests. The Centre also noted that it is odd that, among the major political parties, only the APC is drawing attention to the situation.
Part of the statement reads: “We are fully aware of the antics of some bigwigs, particularly of the APC political family, over the currency swap policy of the Central Bank of Nigeria. A monetary policy that aims at sanitizing the financial sector of our economy is being made to look like a punitive action directed at the well-being and living conditions of Nigerians. The naysayers have stopped at nothing to arm-twist the government with the aim of getting it to back out of the well intentioned policy. Some have even resorted to litigation as a way of forcing the hands of government. We find this distasteful and unacceptable.
“We note with satisfaction that well meaning Nigerians have welcomed the policy and have urged the people to bear with government as the present state of affairs is only temporary. It is indeed curious that while other leading presidential candidates have accepted the policy, only the presidential candidate of the APC, Bola Tinubu, is up in arms against it. So, why is Tinubu and his APC incensed over the policy? This question should agitate the minds of Nigerians.
For us, it is a patriotic duty to alert Nigerians to the real intentions of those resisting the currency swap. They are currency racketeers who have stockpiled humongous amounts of money for the forthcoming general elections. The new policy has, it were, frustrated their plan to deploy the huge cash they have stockpiled for the elections.
“Nigerians should therefore shun them like a plague as their actions are purely self-serving. We urge the people not to be deceived by the claim that the court action instituted by some APC governors led by Mallam Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State is in the interest of Nigerians. It is not. Rather, it serves only the narrow, selfish interest of the APC and its presidential candidate.”
