2023:Naira, fuel crises could hamper Nigerian elections –Accord presidential candidate

…Says Nigeria In ‘Double Jeopardy’

Presidential candidate of the Accord Party , Professor Chris Imumolen has said that any further delay in addressing the lingering issues of naira notes and Premium Motor Spirit (petrol) scarcity may threaten 2023 elections.

He said the lingering issues were calculated attempts targeted at causing unrest. This, he said, has fuelled speculations that the forthcoming general elections may not hold.

Imumolen made these assertions as he addressed journalists on Thursday evening in the nation’s capital Abuja, stating that though the naira redesign policy by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) was a good one, it had no sincerity of purpose in its implementation.

He further worried, the unavailability of petrol and naira notes, especially for an oil-producing country, was capable of crumbling the country as businesses are unable to run.

He said, “Where is the minister of finance? The CBN should be answerable to the minister of finance. The minister of finance is nowhere to be found, what is happening to Nigeria? We are only thinking that this is happening by coincidence, it is not happening by coincidence, there is a calculated attempt to ensure that the next election doesn’t hold.

“Nigerians will not succumb to that, Nigerians are tired, Nigerians are suffering, you have money in the bank, yet you cannot access your money, mobile banks are not working, Nigerians are frustrated, no money to move from one place to another, jobs are closing up for lack of funds. It has not happened in the history of Nigeria.

“This situation has now fuelled speculations that the general elections originally fixed for February 25th, and March 11th this year might be postponed as unconfirmed reports claimed that there are clandestine plots to use this uncertainty of the ongoing crisis to truncate the election.

“So we want to call on government to yield to the cry of the people. If the government of today does not declare a national emergency to quickly look at the problem of cash scarcity and fuel scarcity, the nation might be set ablaze, and we as concerned citizens, don’t want that to happen. So it is important that government must begin to look at this issue critically.”

He called on Nigerians to remain calm and focus on electing leaders who would change the narrative while urging the youths to liberate themselves and begin to support youths and aspire for a great country.

“We are preparing for elections; I believe Nigerians should focus on choosing the right person that will lead them towards the next generation. I have presented myself to Nigerians, I have told Nigerians what I can do, I have traversed all the local governments of this country, my executive and myself, to tell Nigerians how I will represent them and present the alternative that Nigeria truly needs now as a country.

“Many Nigerian youths have been so suppressed in their mental oblongata that they cannot by themselves aspire, but they have forgotten that in time past, we’ve had a lot of youths who had been heads of state in this country. We’ve had youths at 29 years who were ministers, we’ve had youths at 29 years who were presidents, ” Professor Imumolen added.