President Muhammadu Buhari, yesterday, urged citizens to give him a seven-day window to resolve the currency crunch that has emanated from the implementation of the Central Bank of Nigeria, (CBN) policy to change high-value Naira notes with newly designed ones.
The president stated this while speaking to the Progressive Governors Forum, (PGF) who met with him at the Council Chambers, where they sought to share with him the negative impact of the CBN policy, which is undermining the painstaking efforts that have been put forth by this administration in transforming the economy.
He expressed that the objective of the policy was not to create hardship; rather, he said its aim is to provide the economy with much-needed revitalisation and the benefits will be borne in the medium to long term.
While continuing to monitor the situation, the president assured that he will be meeting with both the CBN and the Security and Minting Company and a decision will be taken based on current realities in the best interest of the people.
The governors, while briefing the president, reiterated their position, which is in full support of the policy decision to redesign the currency, and were convinced about the intent behind its thinking, but shared their concern regarding the current fallout which has a debilitating impact on their constituencies.
They told the president that, as leaders within the party and the government in their various states, they were becoming anxious regarding the economic impact and the potential erosion of our democratic process, particularly the upcoming general elections. They, therefore, requested that the president directs an adequate injection of the new notes and the continued utilisation of the old ones until the end of the year.
The president, in his response, stated that when considering the policy, prior to its initial approval, he demanded an undertaking from the CBN that no new notes will be printed outside the country, and he received firm assurances that there was enough capacity, manpower and equipment for the domestic execution of this exercise. However, he said that he would interrogate these assurances, as part of his engagement with the responsible agencies of Government, and thanked the State governors for bringing the cries of the people to him, given their proximity to them, and assured that there will be a solution to the problem.
