Naira Redesign: '13 parties' threaten to pull out of 2023 elections

“Thirteen” out of the 18 political parties in Nigeria have threatened to withdraw from the presidential election slated for February 25 and governorship slated for March 25 over the naira redesign policy of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

This was made known by a coalition of chairmen of political parties on Monday.

They noted that they won't participate in the polls if the February 10 deadline is not extended as demanded by some governors of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

The “13 parties” also knocked the Kaduna, Kogi and Zamfara State Governments for heading to the Supreme Court to get a court injunction to extend the deadline for the validity of three old notes, reports Channels TV.

The National Chairman of the Action Alliance, Kenneth Udeze, who briefed the pressmen, said, “We hereby announce that at least 13 out of the 18 political parties in Nigeria will not be interested in the 2023 general elections and indeed we shall withdraw our participation from the electoral process if this currency policy are suspended or cancelled or if the deadline is further shifted.”

Recall that on October 26 the government announced plans to redesign three banknotes. The N200, N500, and N1,000 notes were subsequently unveiled by President Buhari on November 23, 2022, while the apex bank fixed a January 31 deadline for the validity of the old notes.

The CBN also pegged its weekly cash withdrawal limits to N500,000 for individuals and N5m for corporate firms.

With cries by many Nigerians, the apex bank extended the deadline from January 31 to February 10, saying it got the approval of the President.

Buhari on Friday after a meeting with some APC governors asked for seven days to make a major decision on the policy.

NBA