Currency Printing: PDP Demands Finance Minister’s Sack

Currency Printing: PDP  Demands Finance Minister’s Sack

Chuks Okocha in Abuja

The controversy trailing allegation by Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo State that the federal government had to print N60 billion which was used to beef up the meagre revenue available for distribution for the month of March took a new twist yesterday, with the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) calling for the immediate sack of the Minister of Finance, Hajiya Zainab Ahmed, for allegedly misleading Nigerians by denying the allegation.

The party said, “For failing the full disclosure test, the PDP demands that the Minister of Finance should immediately be relieved of her position, while the President accepts responsibility for the indiscriminate printing of currency in our Naira.

“Our party implores President Buhari to save our nation by allowing better hands to manage and salvage our economy before it is too late,” the party stated.

In a frontal condemnation of the handling of the allegation, the PDP, in a statement signed by its National Publicity, Mr. Kola Ologbondiyan, said that the admission by CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, that the apex bank had been printing money at the bidding of government, had vindicated its earlier stand that the Buhari-led APC administration was characterised by concealments, deceit and falsehood.

The party said Governor Obaseki, as a financial expert, who is not known for flippancy, must be commended for his act of patriotism in exposing the dire economic situation our nation has been plunged under the Buhari administration.

The party said, “A situation where the federal government cannot articulate and implement policies favourable to wealth creation but resorting to borrowing and indiscriminate printing of currency notes, only goes to further confirm that the Buhari administration lacks the credibility and capacity to run a nation.

“Indeed, the admission by the CBN governor that ‘Nigeria is unfortunately in a very bad situation’ further justifies our position that the Buhari-led APC administration has wrecked the economy of our nation.
“Our party is worried over the huge negative impact of indiscriminate printing of currency which has led to the unprecedented rise in inflation rate to 18.17% as disclosed by the Bureau of National Statistics (NBS) on Thursday,” the PDP stated.

According to the PDP, “This situation has led to further economic hardship with surging prices and fallen purchasing power throwing millions of families in distress and unable to afford the basic necessities of life.”
The PDP called out President Buhari to come clean on the amount that had been printed so far by the CBN to finance the deficit caused by the financial mismanagement of his government as well as what the funds had been used for.

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