Currency Printing: PDP demands sack of Finance Minister
AREWA AGENDA – The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has called for the sack of Finance Minister, Zainab Ahmed over what it described as an attempt to mislead Nigerians.
The call follows her denial of the revelations by the Edo state Governor, Godwin Obaseki, that N60 billion was printed in March to support federal allocation to states.”
Edo State governor, Godwin Obaseki had earlier in the week, lamented the sorry state of the nation’s economy, stressing that the federal government had to order the printing of currency to the tune of N60 billion to share among the tiers of government, a claim dismissed by the Finance, Budget and National Planning Minister, Zainab Ahmed.
In a statement signed by Kola Ologbondiyan, national publicity secretary of the party, the PDP maintained that “the admission by Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN governor, Godwin Emefiele, that the apex bank has been printing money at the bidding of government, has vindicated its earlier stand that the Buhari-led APC administration is characterized by concealments, deceit and falsehood.”
The party chided Zainab Ahmed, “for attempting to mislead Nigerians by denying the revelations by the Edo state Governor, Godwin Obaseki, that N60 billion was printed in March to support federal allocation to states.”
The statement further read: “The PDP calls out President Buhari to come clean on the amount that has been printed so far by the CBN to finance the deficit caused by the financial mismanagement of his government as well as what the funds had been used for.
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“Governor Obaseki, as a financial expert, who is not known for flippancy, must be commended for his act of patriotism in exposing the dire economic situation our nation has been plunged under the Buhari administration.
“A situation where the federal government cannot articulate and implement policies favourable to wealth creation but resorting to borrowing and indiscriminate printing of currency notes, only goes to further confirm that the Buhari administration lacks the credibility and capacity to run a nation.
“Indeed, the admission by the CBN governor that ‘Nigeria is unfortunately in a very bad situation,’ further justifies our position that the Buhari-led APC administration has wrecked the economy of our nation.
“Our party is worried over the huge negative impact of indiscriminate printing of currency which has led to the unprecedented rise in inflation rate to 18.17 per cent as disclosed by the Bureau of National Statistics, NBS, on Thursday.
“This situation has led to further economic hardship with surging prices and fallen purchasing power throwing millions of families in distress and unable to afford the basic necessities of life.
“Furthermore, for failing the full disclosure test, the PDP demands that the Minister of Finance should immediately be relieved of her position, while the President accepts responsibility for the indiscriminate printing of currency in our naira.
“Our party implores President Buhari to save our nation by allowing better hands to manage and salvage our economy before it is too late.”
By Dirisu Yakubu
Arewa Agenda is a publication of young writers and journalists from Northern Nigeria geared towards peaceful coexistence and national development through positive narratives.
