Governor Rotimi Akeredolu has asked President Muhammadu Buhari to end the “endless drift into the abyss of chaos” created amid the naira crunch in the country. Akeredolu also criticised the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele for the “mischievous implementation” of the naira redesign policy of the apex bank.   Akeredolu, in a statement on Saturday, faulted Buhari’s ban on old N500 and N1,000 notes which he said represent 82% of total currency in circulation. He also said the ban on N500 and N1,000 notes by the President on Thursday and the extension of the validity of old N200 notes for 60 days was “decreed by presidential fiat”. Read full statement: MR PRESIDENT SHOULD HALT THIS SEAMLESS DRIFT The crises engendered by the policy of the Central Bank of Nigeria to redesign some currency notes, threaten to disrupt, not only the forthcoming general elections. The events of the past days, culminating in the intervention of the apex court in the land, and the increasing gale of violence sweeping through the country, portend serious danger to the current democratic governance. Consequently, this period invites all patriots to speak out with a view to proffering practicable solutions and not project cheap partisan interests. I seize this opportunity to appeal to the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, President Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR, to play the role of a Statesman at this crucial moment. It is apparent that the crises, which the current policy on currency swap has created, continue to spiral menacingly. There is incontrovertible evidence bordering on miscalculation, error of judgement and/or disinformation on the part of the policy makers, especially the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Mr Godwin Emefiele, on the failed implementation of the policy, the effect of which compels the whole country to groan, immeasurably, at present. There is hardly anyone who contends with either the statutory functions of the Central Bank of Nigeria or the occupier of the office of its Governor, one of which is the monetary policy. It is also not debatable that the President and the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Nigeria is empowered, under our law, to exercise certain executive power. It can, however, not be the original intendment of the drafters of the relevant statutes that the implementation of any policy should occasion widespread hardship and pervasive agony in the land. The safety of the people is the supreme law. Any measure, purportedly designed to ameliorate their conditions, must not reduce the entire populace to a beggarly existence. There is pervasive discontent in the land. A policy, presented as currency swap, must not be construed by both the reasonable members and people of average intelligence in the society to convey the deplorable impression of contrived subterfuge manifest in the official confiscation of legitimate deposits of the people in banks, as a counter measure against electoral malfeasance, terrorism and banditry. Desirable as the policy appears to be, its implementation excites curiosity as regards the real motive of its drivers, especially at this time when the conduct of general elections is almost here. The mere knowledge that the N1000 and N500 notes represented 82% of the currency in circulation and that the N200 note, whose validity has been extended, by fiat, for another 60 days, represented 7%, expose the mendacious slant in the advice given to Mr President. This counsel clearly misrepresented, deliberately, the facts as they existed before the commencement of the implementation of the policy. The implementation of this policy has been woeful despite claims to the contrary. The suffering of the masses, occasioned by the non-availability of new notes to replace the old ones, equally decreed out of existence by presidential fiat in contravention of the CBN Act, 2007, could have been averted if the strategy of a gradual and systematic withdrawal of the old currency notes had been adopted. I make bold to assert that the unfolding events across the country show that the policy has failed significantly. It is, therefore, expected that the President will halt this needless drift into the abyss of chaos, more so, when the ruling of highest court still subsists. I call on the President to allow both the old and new notes co-exist until such a time when normalcy returns to the country. It will be a fitting parting gift for the people of this country, especially the downtrodden, who feel the negative impact of the poorly implemented policy. While the reasons adduced for the policy appear legitimate, there can be no justification for the confiscation of the lawful earnings of Nigerians. The negative impact which the mediocre and, I dare say, mischievous implementation of the policy by the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria is having on the poor people and small business owners defeats all the good programmes of the Federal Government designed to elevate as many people as possible out of the morass of poverty. There is no shame in rescinding a decision adjudged not only unpopular and counter-productive, but which also bears the insidious seeds of potential conflagration in the land, one of the ostensible reasons for this ill-conceived policy. ARAKUNRIN OLUWAROTIMI O. AKEREDOLU, SAN, CON GOVERNOR, ONDO STATE

  Ahead of the 2023 general elections, the people of troubled Birnin-Gwari in Birnin-Gwari Local Government Area of Kaduna State said they have started reaching out to various terrorist groups for the successful conduct of the poll in the area. The Chairman of the Birnin-Gwari Emirate Progressive Union, Ishaq Kasai, in a statement on Saturday, said the development became necessary in view of the prevailing security challenges where about 100 communities were sacked while no fewer than 50,000 were internally displaced by terrorists in the LG. The statement was titled, ‘2023 general elections: only reaching out to terrorist groups will allow successful elections in Birnin-Gwari.’ According to him, reaching out to the various terror groups in the area for a truce will enable the locals in 10 out of the 11 political wards in the area to exercise their franchise to elect their leaders in next week’s elections. The BEPU boss noted that only local arrangements with the terrorists could facilitate the locals to participate and vote in the forthcoming election in the LGA that had over the years been ravaged by the activities of the hoodlums. Kasai also hailed the Independent National Electoral Commission for relocating some of the polling units from the sacked communities to various points where the respective eligible voters relocated and were residing as Internally Displaced Persons. He said, “As we are approaching 2023 general elections, our major concern is for our people, including the internally displaced persons, to be given the opportunity to exercise their franchise at their respective secondary locations by voting their choices in the election without any fear or intimidation. “At this point, we wish to commend the effort made in this regard by the Independent National Electoral Commission in relocating some of the Poling Units from the sacked communities to various points where the respective eligible voters relocated and are residing as IDPs. This will, indeed, go a long way in providing them with an opportunity to exercise their franchise. “The second issue is on facilitating movements of the election officials and materials on the election day to various units in the local government, especially to areas where security problems are high, such as the Eastern and Western parts of the local government. “There are 11 political wards in Birnin-Gwari and 10 of these wards are facing security challenges that if measures are not proactively taken will hinder the election processes.” He added, “However, we are aware of the arrangements being made locally to address these challenges, especially by possibly establishing contact with the respective terrorist groups in the most hostile areas in order to allow successful conduct of the 2023 Elections in the area. “It is noted that this same approach was adopted successfully during the Census Enumeration Area Demarcation that took place recently where, with the permission of the bandits, all the areas were visited by the Census functionaries and demarcated. “We, therefore, observe that, based on experience, only local arrangements through diplomatic means in form of reaching to these terrorist groups for negotiation diplomatically could allow the 2023 Elections to hold successfully in about 10 political Wards with hundreds of Poling Units in Birnin-Gwari Local Government Area. “For now, due to security problems, INEC has already cancelled one PU in Gayam Ward of the LG. This cancelled PU is among the 240 PUs recently cancelled by INEC in Nigeria due to high-security threats. “We are therefore advising the Authorities to engage relevant stakeholders, especially community leaders in all arrangements for success of carrying out 2023 general Elections in Birnin-Gwari Local Government Area.”

  The Director General of the Atiku/Okowa campaign and Governor of Sokoto State, Alhaji Aminu Tambuwal has described the Presidential ambition of the Labour Party Candidate, Mr Peter Obi as dead on arrival Tambuwal said this at the grand finale of the PDP’s presidential campaign rally held in Yola, Adamawa.   The Sokoto Governor said, “ I commend all our party leaders and members for all the efforts, when the campaign started, we had 18 contestants and the leading candidate is Atiku and the leading ticket is Atiku/Okowa. We are not ethnic bigots. We presented candidates that are ready for the election and serve Nigerians. Other candidates don’t have the experiences of Atiku and Okowa. “As a former Speaker, I know the difference and it is only Atiku/Okowa that can move the country forward. The ticket reflects pan Nigeria. We won’t vote for APC, again. Tambuwal criticized Labour Party candidate, Peter Obi saying his presidential ambition is dead and buried. The Sokoto governor said, “When Peter Obi was governor of Anambra he didn’t conduct one local govt election. “How could he attempt to be president when he couldn’t conduct local govt elections? He is not Democratic enough. As far as I am concerned Peter Obi’s candidature is dead on arrival.” Peter Obi had attended a function in Adamawa where he was greeted by a mammoth crowd, a development many believed would have rattled the PDP in Adamawa.

  Ten State Governments in Nigeria have asked the Supreme Court to set aside the pronouncement of President Muhammadu Buhari’s banning of the old N500 and N1,000 currency notes. The governors, in Suit No SC/CV/162/2023, filed on Friday by their counsel, A.J. Owonikoko (SAN), want the apex court to declare the President’s directives in his Thursday’s broadcast as unconstitutional. The plaintiffs in the suit are the Attorneys General (AGs) of Kaduna, Kogi, Zamfara, Ondo, Ekiti, Katsina, Ogun, Cross River, Sokoto, and Lagos states while the respondent are the Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami (SAN), as well as the AGs of Bayelsa and Edo states. The plaintiffs, in a 12 grounds of application, argued that Buhari’s directive extending the validity of old N200 notes for 60 days and his ban on old N500 and N1,000 notes are an “unconstitutional overreach and usurpation of the judicial power” of the Supreme Court being that the case is already before the court. usurpation of the judicial power” of the Supreme Court being that the case is already before the court. The counsel for the applicants cited Section 232(1), Section 6(6)(b) and Section 287(1) of the 1999 Constitution as amended, which includes the protection of the Supreme Court’s dignity and which ensure compliance with its orders by all persons and authorities.   The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) had extended the deadline for the swap of old N200, N500, and N1,000 from January 31 to February 10 following complaints by many Nigerians but the Supreme Court held that the Federal Government, the CBN, commercial banks must not continue with the deadline pending the determination of a notice in respect of the issue on February 22. However, the President, in a national broadcast on Thursday, directed the apex bank to release old N200 notes into circulation to co-exist with new N200, N500 and N1,000 banknotes for 60 days. He said old N500 and N1,000 banknotes are no longer legal tender in Nigeria. However, there have been a flurry of reactions and stark criticisms against the President’s directive including from governors of his party, the All Progressives Congress (APC). Governors Nasir El-Rufai (Kaduna), Abubakar Badaru (Jigawa), Rotimi Akeredolu (Ondo) and many top stalwarts of the ruling APC have openly censured and faulted the President’s directive, arguing that it has not grounds because the case is before the apex court.

  The police in Anambra have confirmed that some members of the ‘Unknown Gunmen’ criminal group attacked the state Police Command in Ogidi, Idemili North Local Government Area (LGA), and killed three of its personnel. The latest attack occurred just one day after the assailants attacked a training programme for Adhoc staff of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in respect of the forthcoming 2023 general elections at Ukpor High School, Nnewi South LGA. According to the state police spokesman, Tochukwu Ikenga, the situation in Ogidi following the early morning attack on Saturday, has been brought under control. His statement partly reads: “The Anambra State Police Command has reinforced security in the Idemili North area of the state, following the attack on the Ogidi area command in the early hours of Saturday, February 18, 2023, where three policemen paid the supreme price. “The hoodlums started shooting sporadically on approaching the area command and threw IEDs and petrol bombs, gaining entrance. Unfortunately, the buildings in the police facility were affected. “However, the command observes with grave concern the loss of lives and valuables as a result of this attack and calls for calm. “The police are resolute in depriving these criminal elements of the space which they desire to perpetrate their evil acts.”