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There are some “elements” in Aso Rock working against Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, Presidential Candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), according to Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State.
Speaking on Sunrise Daily, a Channels Television breakfast programme, the governor said these persons, whose identities he did not disclose were aggrieved that Tinubu defeated their candidate in the APC presidential primaries.
He said these elements were hiding behind President Muhammadu Buhari’s desire to do what he thinks is right.
He said, ”I believe there are elements in the Villa that want us to lose the election because they didn’t get their way; they had their candidate. Their candidate did not win the primaries.
“They are trying to get us to lose the election, and they are hiding behind the president’s desire to do what he thinks is right. I will give two examples: this petroleum subsidy, which is costing the country trillions of Naira, was something that we all agreed would be removed.
“In fact, I had a discussion with the president and showed him why it had to go. Because how can you have a capital budget of N200b for federal roads and then spend N2 Trillion on petroleum subsidy? This was a conversation I had with the president in 2021 when the subsidy thing started rising. He was convinced. We left. It changed. Everyone in the government agreed, and it changed.
“The second example I will give is this currency redesign. You have to understand the president. People are blaming the Governor of the Central Bank for the currency redesign, but No. You have to go back and look at the first outing of Buhari as president. He did this; the Buhari, Idiagbon regime changed our currency and did it in secrecy with a view to catching those that are stashing away illicit funds. It is a very good intention. The president has his right. But doing it at this time within the allotted time does not make any political or economic sense.”
El-Rufai’s bombshell comes a week after the ruling party’s presidential candidate said there were plans to stop him from winning the election.
Tinubu had said fuel scarcity and naira redesign were targeted at him.
The Registrar of Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB), Professor Ishaq Oloyede has ordered some computer-based JAMB registration centres in Kano, to produce a final year law student and five others for allegedly involved in impersonation and other crimes which were against the rules and regulations of the agency.
Professor Oloyede who gave the order on Wednesday during his inspection of some computer-based registration centres in the State, said that the above six people, engaged in thumbprint for several candidates and would be prosecuted by the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission (ICPC)
According to him, as far as JAMB is concerned, “we have seen there is little or nothing to be corrected” adding that “though we have discovered some sharp practices that had been done”.
“Almost all of them caught in the act had confessed to committing the offence, because substituting their fingerprints for a candidate, meant that they would go to examination halls and write the examination for such a person.
2023 UTME registration: Provision of personal e-mail compulsory from Jan 31, says JAMB
“We were calling on candidates to be wary of these shady practices and be vigilant, that on no reason any candidate should allow any other person to add his|her own finger to their own finger when doing biometric.”
Prof. Oloyede disclosed that those two were uncovered at Federal College of Education Kano and four discovered at Butale computer centre.
He said they must be brought to Abuja, where they would be handed over to security agencies and the ICPC for proper prosecution.
He added that unknown to many people, the JAMB has introduced a high-tech mechanism capable of not only discovering malpractices but also capable revealed anomalies of thump print for another candidate during registration.
Prof.Oloyede then added that the JAMB have evidence and those who committed such an offence have confessed to committing the offence of conniving with candidates to substitute fingerprints for them adding that “they have questions to answer”.
However, when commenting on the fate of a final law student that was uncovered to have allegedly committed impersonation, he said “law has no respect for anybody”.
“What applied to either a staff, student that committed a crime, equally goes to the final law student adding he is liable for the offence committed and must face the music.
It was another day of rage in Enugu today as Keke tricycle riders in the state came out to register their displeasure over the increasing hardship they go through in their daily life in the recent days.
The Keke tricycle riders block Abakiliki roads, demand end to fuel price hike, CBN monetary policies in recent time.
The tricycle riders who came out in their hundreds blocked popular Otigba junction in the state with their Keke tricycles, leading to heavy gridlock along Abakiliki road.
According to the protesting Keke tricycle riders, they are tired of buying fuel at exorbitant price of between N450-N650 per litre.
They also complained of alleged harsh Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN recent monetary policy of withdrawal limit of N20,000 across the counter even in the face of scarcity of both new and old naira notes.
An eye witness who is a tricycle riders told WITHIN NIGERIA that ” we are very angry. How can we buy fuel at N500 at this moment? We can’t go anywhere because of high cost of petrol. Look at it now, because of hike in petrol price, the price of other goods and services have gone up. We can’t continue like this. It is very unbearable.”
Explaining further, our source who is also a tricycle rider lamented that ” as we are going through this horrible experience, CBN came with their monetary policy of changing what now came to be known as old naira notes. We rushed to banks to deposit our old naira notes.
“Today we don’t see old naira notes and there is no new naira notes. If we go to bank to withdraw your money, they will give you N10,N20, N50 and N100 notes. There is no new naira.”
Lamenting further he said that ” we are suffering. We are dying. We are hungry. We can’t continue like this. We are angry.”
Our reporter gathered that few minutes into the protest, police from the state command invaded the area, asking the protesters to disperse, promising to take their demands to the state government.
The visibly angry youths, after some minutes of persuasion, yielded to the plea of the police and promised to continue the next day if their demands were not addressed.
In a related development, another protest was also said to be going on simultaneously with that of Keke tricycle riders in Enugu.
Some People’s Democratic Party PDP youths besieged the palatial house of a popular businessman and philanthropist, Chief Arthur Eze, demanding the fulfilment of his financial promise.
According the youths, the billionaire businessman promised to give them N20m during Atiku/Okowa presidential campaign visit to the state weeks ago, yet he has not fulfilled the promise.
Many of them were seen chanting profanity against the PDP candidates even as several protesting youths were captured on camera, setting ablaze PDP face caps with ATIKU inscribed on them when they discovered that Chief Arthur Eze was no where to be found.
No property was damaged during the protest, many of them were seen dejected and angry, raining abuses on the presidential candidates for deceiving them.
National Chairman of the New Nigerian People’s Party, (NNPP), Professor Ahmed Rufai Alkali has denied insinuation that his party presidential candidate, Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso would step down for former Vice- President and People’s Democratic Party presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar.
Addressing newsmen at the party national secretariat in Abuja, Professor Alkali alleged that certain elders in the North were being mobilised to put pressure on the NNPP presidential candidate to withdraw from the race for Atiku Abubakar in a consensus deal.
Alkali who did not name the Northern elders behind the move, however, maintained that the NNPP Presidential candidate is in the race to win the election.
Alkali urged the PDP presidential candidate to concentrate on how to woo some of the governors who have vowed not to support him in his aspiration rather than pushing for a consensus Northern candidate.
He said:” We aren’t a party to any consensus arrangement. Our candidates for all the elective offices have been campaigning for elections at all levels. “We have no engagement with Atiku Abubakar. He is running his campaign, we are running our own. He wants to be President, it is his legitimate right, guaranteed under the Constitution, But our candidate is also a front-runner and he is eminently qualified.
“We know he has been putting pressure on our candidate, using some leaders to talk to Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso.
“It is for this reason of using people to lobby in his favour that we shunned the engagement with the Northern Elders Forum. We knew the agenda.
“Now, they have been talking about a national government when we aren’t running a parliamentary system. Atiku is going so low, trying to force people to endorse him. We have 18 political parties in this country and we don’t know why he is so desperate.
“Of course, we know his worry: the PDP of today isn’t the PDP of the days of its founding fathers. The umbrella can’t give shed to anybody, it is in tatters. Five governors aren’t with him, coming from very powerful states.
“His house, the PDP isn’t in order, it is so divided, and you want us to come and follow you. The PDP is in shred and you want us to come and follow you. Very soon, those who have been threatening to leave would soon do so. Rabiu Kwankwaso has said this election is for the people, he has been campaigning vigorously.
” So, we disassociate ourselves from the endorsement of Atiku Abubakar. ”
However, Atiku spokesperson, Paul Ibe dismissed the allegation of pressure on Rabiu Kwankwaso to withdraw from the race in a Northern consensus deal.
Speaking with Tribune Online in a telephone interview, Paul Ibe said he was not aware of any plot for a Northern consensus candidate.
He declared that the PDP presidential candidate has never shied from his belief in a Government of National Unity to create a win-win situation for all contenders and relevant stakeholders in the politics of the country.
He said: ” Atiku isn’t building any Northern consensus but a Nigerian consensus. Yes, he is from Adamawa in the North but he is a Nigerian. Alhaji Atiku Abubakar is preparing for the governance of Nigeria, not for election.
“He is a visioner and that explains why he is pushing for a government of National Unity to douse tension in the country. Atiku is a win-win situation for everybody. It is ridiculous for anybody to say he is trying to build a Northern consensus. ”
A 43-year-old pastor, Paul Oyewole, allegedly faked his own obituary on the social media platform, WhatsApp, in a bid to avoid repaying a ₦3 million debt owed to a church member.
According to Vanguard, Oyewole was arraigned on Wednesday at the Chief Magistrate Court, Ondo Town, Ondo on charges of fraudulently obtaining ₦3m from one Boyede Emmanuel, with the promise to pay back the money within seven days, a promise he failed to fulfill.
Police Prosecutor, Akao Moremi, informed the court that the defendant falsely published his obituary on WhatsApp after he had sent a fake bank alert.
He was also said to have “threatened the complainant on phone, with the intent to intimidate him and also conducted himself in a manner likely to cause a breach of the peace, by stripping himself naked in front of the house of the complainant.”
Oyewole has pleaded not guilty to the charges. He was granted N1 million bail with two sureties in like sum.
The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar has vowed to take it in good faith if he loses the presidential election.
Atiku explained that he would not be the first loser; hence he would take his loss in good faith.
Speaking on BBC Pidgin on Tuesday, Atiku said: “I am not the first loser, neither am I going to be the last.”
Atiku also dismissed claims of corruption against him, stressing that he had been investigated and nothing was discovered.
“All what I know, all corrupt practices or corruption allegations against me have been investigated in this country more than anybody else and nothing was found against me. That audio has disclosed nothing new,” he said.
The former Vice President also said he wants to bequeath a better Nigeria to his children and the future generation of the country.
The presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Tinubu, at the party’s presidential campaign rally in Calabar, Cross River State, slammed the President Muhammadu Buhari-led federal government over the depreciation of the nation’s currency.
This comes few days after Tinubu criticised the government.
According to Tinubu, when the government took over, the naira/dollar exchange rate was about N200 to a dollar, but it has depreciated to about N800 to the dollar on the parallel market.
“Today, they moved the exchange rate from N200 to N800. If they had repaired it, if they had arrested this, we won’t be where we are today, we will be greater. “They don’t know the way, they don’t know how to think, they don’t know how to do,” the former Lagos governor said.
Tinubu recently in Abeokuta, Ogun State, had attacked the federal government for the lingering fuel scarcity in the country as well as the naira redesign project which the Central Bank of Nigeria carried out with the approval of President Muhammadu Buhari.
However, the former Lagos governor had denied that the outburst wasn’t targeted at the president, but the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Atiku Abubakar.
Also at the Calabar rally, Tinubu promised that Cross River State woulf be converted to the tourism hub of Nigeria if he becomes the president of Nigeria after the February 25, 2023 presidential election.
Tinubu said this while addressing a mammoth crowd of APC stalwarts and supporters that trooped out to grace the presidential campaigns of the party in Calabar.
The APC leader who arrived Calabar in company of his running mate Senator Kashim Shettima alongside other party members said: “We will turn the water surroundings and the Atlantic of Cross River State to be better than Florida.Money will come in; this state will become wonders of tourism in Nigeria. We are promise keepers!
“We mean what we say. When we took over in Lagos, we said what we’ll do in Lagos, and we did it. Today Lagos is exceptionally rich and functional.”
The APC presidential candidate said as president, he would create prosperity, create jobs and create a much stronger economy for the country.
Tinubu told the people of Cross River State not to vote for the candidate of the PDP.
“They (PDP) mismanaged the nation’s economy, and privatised assets of the country to themselves and their cronies. Don’t mind them with their lies of 16 years, they cannot even provide electricity to roast corn. They kept lying, electricity that is generated from our hydro, they don’t know how to do it”, he alleged.
Tinubu praised Senator John Owan-Eno and the Mrs. Mary Ekpere for sheathing their swords, and working together in unison with others for the victory of the APC at the polls.
Also speaking, a former Leader of the Senate Victor Ndoma-Egba, said the election provides the opportunity for the PDP to be buried finally.
The state governor, Prof. Ben Ayade said the APC would win all the election in the state.
Ayade asked Tinubu to ensure that the Bakassi Deep Seaport, and the Super Highway become realities when he becomes president of Nigeria.
Meanwhile, at the Awka rally in Anambra State, Tinubu derided two of his co-contestants, Atiku and Mr. Peter Obi of the Labour Party (LP), saying anytime Atiku says “walahi talahi’, what is in his head is, ‘na lie I lie.”
Describing the duo as liars and betrayers, Tinubu, who insisted that he was the only one who has been able to establish a track record of success, with verifiable projects as governor of Lagos State, identified Governor Chukwuma Soludo as a thinker he was ready to work with as well as promised to tackle the challenge of erosion in the state the same way he tackled the menace of ocean surge in Lagos.
“You will have industrial hub in Anambra. We are not like PDP that forgot your rail line. They are liars. When you hear Atiku uses the word and say ‘walahi talahi’, what is in his head is “na lie I lie”. Anytime you hear him say Walahi talqhi,, just reply and say, “na lie I lie.
“The man who left here, he calls himself Peter Obi. We read in the bible that before the cock crows, he will deny Jesus Christ. Is it not true? So, how can he keep his promise to you? He cannot prove a point. Has Bola Tinubu not proved a point? Did I close any market? Did I kill anyone? I’m a thinker and a doer, I even tamed the Atlantic,” he said
Speaking on his promises for the people of Anambra State, Tinubu said, “You want to make Anambra a highly dependable state right? That is the memory of my dear friend Chuba Okadigbo. That is what we will continue to carry on – the joy of Chuba Okadigbo. Youths of Anambra, I’m here today to concretise the promise of development that will promise you restoration and industrialisation.
“You know me, you know Tinubu, the city boy of Lagos? You know I had the Atlantic tamed in Lagos? The way we tamed Atlantic Ocean is the same way we will tame the erosion in the eastern region. We will tame the erosion. We will make the value of your property worth more than 1,000 time of your investment.
“We will create jobs for our youths. We will industrialise and make Anambra both the economic city and the economic centre of Nigeria. Your resources will be applied to create handwork and hard work, better paying jobs.
“We are not like the other party that comes here to lie to you. Tell them when they bring their lie, ask them how long will it take their lies to travel from Port Harcourt to Onitsha, Onitsha to Aba?
“You see their lies, for 16 years, PDP lied that they will give industrialisation, but instead they sold our assets to themselves and they called it privatisation. Privatisation to their own pockets. They privatised the industry to their pockets.
“The hour has come, your PVC is the master, the voice of commandment. Atiku said he is the candidate of the north, is that not a dog whistle? Is that not a division among us. Anambra people lived well, in prosperity and joy with me in Lagos. I started paying WAEC fees, I didn’t discriminate whether you are Igbo, Christian or anybody, I paid for everybody.”
He, however, eulogised Soludo, saying, “Soludo, your son is not contesting with me or against me. He is a brilliant man, he has the brain, he is a thinker, he knows the way. We will work together. When I become the president, Soludo will be one of those advisers, who will bring prosperity back to you. So, the way you voted for Soludo is the way you vote for Bola Tinubu.”
Director General of the APC presidential campaign council, Senator Margery Okadigbo, who spoke at the rally said, the massive attendance was indicative of the love the people of the state had for Tinubu, and that they were ready to vote for him during the election.
Ahead of the presidential election, a former Nigerian lawmaker and social critic, Senator Shehu Sani, says Governor Nyesom Wike-led G5 governors are playing hard to get.
Sani also said their endorsement would soon become irrelevant as voters might have made up their minds about their preferred candidates.
The statement was contained in a post via his verified Twitter handle on Tuesday.
Recall that the G5 Governors have been engaged in a political battle with the party’s presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, over control of the party.
As a result, they refused to openly support him for the forthcoming presidential election.
Although the group of five governors had said they would announce their candidate in January, that is yet to come.
Meanwhile, Sani says the clock is ticking, noting that their endorsement might not matter after all.
He wrote, “The G5 have been playing hard to get. The clock is ticking. When the masses they control have made up their mind, endorsement will be irrelevant.”
PRESIDENTIAL candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, for the February 25 general elections, Ahmed Bola Tinubu campaigned in Awka, Anambra State on Tuesday and promised to make the state an industrial hub of the country if elected.
Addressing a mammoth crowd at the Alex Ekwueme Square, the venue of the rally, Tinubu, who was accompanied by his running mate, Kashim Shetima, the director general of his campaign organization, Governor Simon Lalong of Plateau State, Imo State governor, Hope Uzodinma, Kano State governor, Abdullahi Ganduge and other top officials of the campaign council, also promised to tackle the gully erosion menace that is devastating most communities in Anambra State.
He said: “You know me and you know what I can do. I tamed the Atlantic ocean in Lagos and I can do a similar thing in Anambra. We will check the gully erosion devastating the state.
“I will turn Anambra to an industrial revolution state. We will train our youths so that they can secure well- paying jobs and be useful to themselves.
“I started paying WAEC fees for every student in Lagos, whether you are Igbo or Yoruba or Hausa and I will be fair to all Nigerians if I become president.”
He promised to work with the Anambra State governor, Professor Chukwuma Soludo, who he described as a very brilliant man, if he is elected president of Nigeria, recalling that he also discovered another Anambra son, Mr. Ben Akabueze who worked with him in Lagos and is presently the presidential adviser on budget.
He urged the Nigerian electorate not to listen to those he described as lying politicians.
He added: “How long will it take them to lie from Port Harcourt to Onitsha; Onitsha to Aba? “For 16 years, PDP lied to the nation that they will industrialize Nigeria, but they industrialized their pockets.
“One person said he is the candidate of the north and I urge voters not to listen to him. There will be hope, joy, prosperity and progress if you vote APC and I urge every eligible voter to collect their PVC and vote for Asiwaju.”
2023: ‘What A Dead End’ – Dele Momodu Reacts To Wike’s Purported Plan To Deliver 25% Votes For Tinubu
AdminDele Momodu, a Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chieftain, has reacted to Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike’s alleged plan to deliver 25% of the vote to All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate Bola Tinubu.
WITHIN NIGERIA recalls Wike’s promise in December 2022 to publicly name his preferred presidential candidate in January 2023 ahead of the February election, but he failed, despite the hopes of many Nigerians.
In a tweet on Tuesday, Jackson Ude, a former Nigerian journalist living in Pennsylvania, claimed that Wike is afraid of suspension and has directed his caucus and local government chairmen to back Tinubu.
He tweeted:
A coward Gov. Nyesom Wike, after a meeting, has told his caucus and local government chairmen in the state that he is not publicly naming his preferred presidential candidate. He directed them to work for Bola Tinubu of the APC and ensure he get 25%. Wike fears suspension.
Dele Momodu, who responded via his social media page, described the report as an anticlimactic case, saying that Wike could not boldly announce his preferred candidate after threatening for months.
The former presidential candidate noted that securing 25% of the vote for Tinubu is still insufficient to help him defeat Atiku.
He went on to say that the PDP flagbearer would win the election, and that the credit would go to former Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi and state gubernatorial candidate Tonye Cole.
He wrote:
This news is such an anticlimactic case… After threatening for so many months, Governor Nyesom Wike could not announce his favorite and favored Presidential candidate GIDIGBA…
Even if chief Bola Tinubu gets 25 percent in Rivers State, it is too little to help him win against H.E Atiku Abubakar the only certified National candidate, and former Governor Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi and Mr Tonye Cole will take the credit… What a dead end!!
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Governor Waziri Aminu Tambuwal of Sokoto State has lost one of his top aides after a stampede at the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) rally.
Naija News reports that the Special Adviser to Tambuwal on female Education, Hajiya Aishat Maina, died minutes after attending the Presidential rally of Atiku Abubakar, which took place in Sokoto state on Tuesday.
A staff member of the Ministry of Information, who craved anonymity, told Daily Trust that Maina was caught in a stampede that occurred at the exit gate of Giginya Stadium, the venue of the rally.
“A motorcyclist fell down from his bike at the exit way of the stadium, and that caused a serious stampede, with people falling upon one another. She was one of the victims,” the staff said.
Also confirming the report, the Chairman of the Forum of Special Advisers, Ibrahim Magaji Gusau, said the late government aide was rescued and rushed to the Usmanu Danfodiyo University Teaching Hospital, Sokoto, for treatment.
“But unfortunately, she died a few minutes after her admission,” he said
Magaji, who described her as hardworking and energetic, said they were together throughout last night as they were putting the finishing touches to some of the items for the event.
He prayed to Allah to forgive her shortcomings and grant her Jannat ul Firdaus.
Naija News understands that the late Maina was the former chairperson of the National Woman Journalists Association of Nigeria (NAWOJ), Sokoto state chapter.
She was also the former Special Adviser to Governor Aminu Tambuwal on New Media before being moved to Female Education Board.
She is survived by three children and aged parents.
Former Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu and his wife, Beatrice, appeared in a London court on Tuesday for a trial on alleged organ harvesting, but his accused daughter was unable to attend due to illness.
WITHIN NIGERIA reports that Ekweremadu is being tried in connection with the organ harvesting case involving the alleged kidney donor, David Nwamini Ukpo.
UK authorities arrested Ekweremadu and his wife, Beatrice, on suspicion of bringing a minor to the UK to harvest his kidney.
Prosecutors claimed the defendants planned to have the man’s kidney removed so that it could be given to Sonia, their own daughter.
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She was unable to appear in court because she was hospitalized with an unspecified condition.
Her defense team also filed a psychological report claiming she is unfit to stand trial.
The court adjourned shortly after it convened to allow prosecutors to read the report.
Following preliminary tests at a north London hospital, the accuser is said to have raised the alarm after refusing to consent to the procedure.
During the brief session on Tuesday morning, Beatrice sat next to her husband in the dock, dressed all in black.
Both supporters and protesters gathered outside the London courthouse ahead of Tuesday’s hearing.
I mean, this case is unbelievable, said protester Citizen Gbola.
Where else in the world would you have a deputy senate president — who is still a serving senator, he’s still getting his regular wage?
Labour Party (LP) standard-bearer, Peter Obi, has yet again emerged the most preferred candidate to win next month’s presidential election, according to a new poll.
The poll which was conducted by Nigerians Decide, an independent research think-tank based in the United States of America, was concluded on Monday
Peter Obi garnered 1,856,537 to lead his closest rivals Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP); Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC); and Rabiu Kwankwaso of the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP).
Atiku had 1,539,568 votes, Tinubu garnered 1,486,401 and Kwankwaso polled 12,907 votes according to the latest poll released by Nigerians Decide.
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According to the US-based organisation, the online opinion poll was launched on December 6, 2022 and concluded today, Tuesday, January 31, 2023. The poll was launched to determine and predict the possible direction and outcome of the 2023 general elections in Nigeria.
“We are glad to launch www.nigeriansdecide.com, a United States of America-based non-profit and independent research think-tank. We conduct opinion polls on matters of public policy, like public engagement and participation in democratic exercise,” the agency’s project director, Rosalynn Carte had said in a statement.
It’s gathered that the poll had no connection or relationship or link with any politician or organisation interested in Nigerian politics, but purely for data collection.
The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, has accused commercial banks of being responsible for the scarcity of the new naira notes.
He made the accusation on Tuesday during a meeting with the House of Representatives Ad-hoc Committee on the Review of the CBN’s cashless policy and the extension of the deadline of the old naira notes, held in Abuja.
Emefiele, who was accompanied to the meeting by all the four Deputy Governors of the CBN, accused the commercial banks of breaching the apex bank guidelines, with the way the new naira was being sprayed in parties.
He said the apex bank was working closely with relevant agencies of the federal government to ensure full compliance with the CBN guidelines issued to the banks for the seamless distribution of the new banknotes.
Emefiele appealed to Nigerians for their support, stressing that the naira redesign will benefit the country in the future and was for the good of Nigerians.
He said: “I addressed the bankers on Sunday and I expressed to them my disappointment and in fact, the disappointment of the president, the disappointment of leaders in the country with the way this has gone on because many of us have unfortunately seen the new naira instead of being used for the purpose it was meant, the new naira is being used in parties, in celebrations.
“Some of them (bank CEOs) said well, maybe it’s money from the ATMs and I said no, money from the ATMs are already broken.
“They are in leaflets but what we saw being stamped on people at parties were packages of the new naira notes which means they had breached certain aspects of the guidance note we gave to them.
“And when I met President Buhari, I told him that we have met with the EFCC, the ICPC and NFIU and that we are now going to bring EFCC, ICPC, NFIU to join us in monitoring the flow of this currency to our people.
“I must say that I am even delighted that even yesterday, I read that the DSS has started that, which is what we want so that everybody knows that we are conducting this activity to the best of our ability.
“We are doing this for the good of Nigerians. We are doing this so that the Nigerian economy can be better than it is today and I am saying that we are beginning to see some of the benefits.”
Emefiele said the currency redesign policy has so far recorded about a 75 percent success rate since the new naira notes were introduced.
He said many of those in the rural and underserved locations across the 36 states of the country have had the opportunity of swapping their old banknotes for the new series of banknotes.
Emefiele said: “Inflation last month is not rising, not stagnating but somehow moderating. We are expecting that it will continue to moderate. The exchange rate to be stable and we are hoping that with this exercise, the naira can even get stronger.
“We know in the process that some will be hurt, I will say temporarily. But it’s a pain that I will appeal to all of us to please show some understanding because the overriding benefits to Nigerians is what we are interested in which is about making our economy stronger then combatting the high incidence of insecurity.
“Yes, we saw a few failings on the part of the banks and we appealed to EFCC, ICPC, NFIU; they are currently working with our officials nationwide to make sure that this process goes on seamlessly.
“We are happy they the exercise has achieved a success of over 75 percent in our villages, etc. It is on the basis of that we now have a 10 days extension for the more and more of this to be collected and then we make more disbursement.”