Olawale Ajimotokan in Abuja
The federal government has flayed the opposition for turning the Naira redesign issue into a political blame game.
Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, gave the condemnation, Monday in Abuja at the PMB Scorecard Series in the 2015-23 amid the hardship that has trailed fuel supply disruptions and the recent redesigning of the Naira.
He criticized the opposition political parties for going to court on Monday to obtain an injunction, restraining President Muhammadu Buhari and the CBN from extending the February 10 deadline for Nigerians to exchange their old notes for new ones after his meeting with Progressives’ Governors last Friday, where he urged citizens to give him a seven-day window to resolve the currency crunch that had emanated from the implementation of the Naira redesign policy.
The court action came after a number of opposition parties threatened to boycott the 2023 general elections if the deadline was extended.
The minister said the Federal Government was mindful of the inconveniences currently being endured by citizens as a result of fuel supply disruptions and the currency redesign, saying government was working assiduously to restore normalcy to the critical enablers of economic activity and to take added measures, where necessary, to alleviate the pains of Nigerians.
“These curious actions by the parties concerned is clear evidence that the opposition has turned this whole issue into a political game, preferring to make Nigerians suffer more on the altar of an unconscionable political gamesmanship. Or how else can one explain the fact that these unscrupulous opposition parties do not want any action that could reduce the pains being experienced by Nigerians? How else can one explain the fact that they have decided to legally hamstring Mr. President, in particular, from providing any relief for Nigerians suffering from the cash crunch? It is bad politics when you put the interest of desperate political parties over and above that of Nigerians, the same Nigerians whose votes you earnestly seek,” Mohammed said
He said the desperate actions would not save the sinking political parties as voters had already seen that they are the real enemies of the people and not President Buhari or the All Progressive Congress (APC), adding despite their antics government was willing and able to take decisive steps to bring succour to Nigerians in the shortest possible time.
