Leon Usigbe
The Federal government on Tuesday blasted opposition parties that secured a court order preventing the extension of the deadline given by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for the swapping of old naira notes for redesigned ones, saying that they have stopped President Muhammadu Buhari from providing succour to suffering Nigerians.
Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, gave this position in Abuja at the opening of the 23rd edition of President Muhammadu Scorecard media series featuring the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Mrs Sadiya Umar Farouq.
The minister asserted that the action of the opposition parties coming after another group of parties threatened to boycott the coming election over the same matter, shows that the opposition has turned the issue into a political game.
He said the parties are the real enemies of the people rather than President Buhari or the All Progressives Congress (APC).
The government spokesman stated: “I will invite the Honourable Minister to make her presentation shortly. But before then, let me use this opportunity to assure Nigerians that the Federal Government is mindful of the inconveniences currently being endured by citizens as a result of fuel supply disruptions and the recent redesigning of some Naira notes.
“Government is working assiduously to restore normalcy to these critical enablers of economic activity and to take added measures, where necessary, to alleviate the pains of Nigerians.
“Recall, ladies and gentlemen, that after he met with Progressives’ Governors on Friday, Mr President Buhari urged citizens to give him a seven-day window to resolve the currency crunch that has
emanated from the implementation of the Naira redesign policy.
“Unfortunately, on Monday (yesterday), some opposition political parties ran to court to obtain an injunction restraining Mr President and the CBN from extending the Feb 10 deadline for Nigerians to
exchange their old notes for new ones.
“The court action came after several opposition parties threatened to boycott the 2023 general elections if the deadline was extended.
“These curious actions by the parties concerned are 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.
“One thing is sure though: the desperate actions will not save these sinking political parties as voters have already seen that they are the real enemies of the people and not President Muhammadu Buhari
or the All Progressive Congress (APC).
“And despite the antics of the opposition, rest assured, ladies and gentlemen, that the government is willing and able to take decisive steps to bring succour to Nigerians in the shortest possible time.”
Mohammed congratulated Nigerian artiste, Temilade Openiyi, popularly known as Tems, for her 2023 Grammy Award, saying that by dint of hard work and uncommon creativity, Nigerian musicians have continued to take the world by storm and make the country proud.
“We hope this remarkable achievement by Tems will spur her to greater heights and serve as an inspiration to other artists who are also eyeing the highly-coveted honour,” he said.
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