Currency Crisis Worsening Nigeria’s Poverty, Insecurity ,Vote-buying Records – Group

A Civil Society Organization, Journalists  for Open Government & Inclusion (JOGI)  has called President Muhammadu Buhari to act as a true statesman and  obey the Supreme verdict on Currency Swap Policy.

The group warned that the growing anger in the land due to the currency scarcity could snow ball into civil unrest, unless the government act responsibly. 

The Executive Director of JOGI, Comrade Yaqoub POPOOLA, in a release said it was quite unfortunate that a government that is still battling with poverty and  insecurity could allow the nation slide into chaos due to needless, irresponsible and Ill-conceived policy. 

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The group urged the  President to direct the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria( CBN) to respect the Supreme Court verdict on the matter and allow the old and new currency to float side by side in the open market. 

With the untidy manner in which President Buhari is handling the delicate matter ,it is  very clear now that Buhari is actually pursuing a hidden agenda at the detriment of the nation’s wellbeing. 

“In case Mr President did not know, the worst form of corruption is the disobedience to court orders. Again, any government that initiates a policy without a proper implementation plan and strategy is also indulging in corruption. 

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“As we speak, most Banks in the country have been shut down due to fear of being attack by angry residents and President Buhari still finds it convenient  to dish out insane directives. ” 

The group therefore warned that the Buhari’s administration might end up like the inglorious regime of former military President Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida which annulled the freest and fairest Presidential poll in the history of Nigeria.

“It is also clear that Buhari and his voodoo economic advisers are working in cahoots with anti-democratic elements in the country to truncate the  Presidential poll.

“How on earth would a government deny the people access to their legitimate earnings and expect them not be vulnerable to vote-trading during elections? When you deliberately impoverished the people, you are making them vulnerable to all forms of abuse. This is pure madness! 

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“Today, the only thing Nigerians and indeed the world remember about the eight-year regime of IBB is the annulment of June12,1993 General Election. 

“With the untidy manner the CBN is going about the implementation of its naive policy, the level of vote-trading in the General Election would be unimaginable.

“Since the wake of this crazy policy many lives have been lost while a number of public infrastructures, including Commercial Banks have also been destroyed. Angry Nigerians are beginning to regroup with a view to launch a massive civil unrest and a government supposedly planning peaceful and credible elections for Nigerians is not seeing the handwriting on the wall. 

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“The truth of the matter is that the CBN under headship of Emefiele is grossly incompetent to carry out any honest economic reform or fight corruption since itself, an harbinger of corruption.

“If we may ask, how was the new notes found their way into the hands of hawkers, even when they are  not available in the Banks? It is simple logic  Emefiele who could not stop his men from corruption  and sharp practices cannot lead any genuine anti-  corruption  war in Nigeria.” Enough of this madness. 

As a group committed to good and open governance, we want to use this medium to admonish Nigerians to remain calm, even in the face of this naked  provocation from the sitting President. We must not play into the hands of anti democratic forces. May Nigeria succeed.

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