Ganduje alleges political sabotage as court halts extension of Naira swap

Governor Abdullahi Ganduje of Kano State, on Tuesday, raised the alarm over alleged plans by some political parties to scuttle democratic transition in the country by hiding behind the recent naira redesign policy by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

This was in reaction of to a suit filed by some political parties seeking non-extension of deadline for the withdrawal of old naira notes from circulation.

Justice Eleojo Enenche of a High Court of the Federal Capital Territory in Abuja, while ruling on an ex parte motion filed by four out of the eighteen political parties — the Action Alliance, Action People’s Party, Allied People’s Movement and National Rescue Movement — had restrained the Nigerian government and 27 listed commercial banks from suspending, stopping, extending or interfering with the currency redesign terminal date of February 10 or issue any directive contrary to the date.

Justice Enenche also granted an order directing the CEOs of the banks to show why they should not be arrested and prosecuted for the economic and financial sabotage of the country by their hoarding, withholding the new N200 N500 and N1000 bank notes despite supply of such notes by the CBN.

Read also:Naira Scarcity: Ganduje says Emefiele fighting back for losing presidential bid

Ganduje, who reacted to the judgement in a statement issued by his Commissioner for Information, Mallam Muhammad Garba, alleged the four political parties were in connivance with the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to sabotage the country’s democracy.

The governor further accused the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) of attempts to deliberately thwart the nation’s hard-earned democracy by imposing harsh policies calculated to weaken the masses.

The statement reads: “It is unfortunate that the CBN and its collaborators are insisting unnecessarily on the imposition of an unreasonable time frame for the old Naira notes to cease to be legal tender, in total refutation of the obvious national dearth in the necessary technological infrastructure for the process.

“The rigid insistence on the implementation of these harsh, inhuman and insensitive cash policies to a point of neglecting their widespread rejection by the vast majority of Nigerians including the National Assembly and all state governors, is an ominous agenda for the undermining of the nation and consequent scurrying of a smooth transition to a freely and fairly elected successive administration.”

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