Attempt To Shift Validity Deadline of Old Naira Notes: ‘13 Political Parties’ Threaten To Pull Out Of 2023 Elections

“Thirteen” out of the 18 political parties in Nigeria have threatened to withdraw from the February 25 and March 11 general elections in Nigeria over the naira redesign policy of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

The parties said they won’t be interested in the elections if CBN’s new deadline of February 10, 2023 for validity of old notes is shifted.

At a briefing by a coalition of chairmen of political parties on Monday, the “13 parties” commended President Muhammadu Buhari on the redesign of the N200, N500 and N1,000 banknotes.

The parties said they won’t be interested in the elections if the new deadline of February 10, 2023 is shifted as demanded by some governors of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

The “13 parties” also knocked the Kaduna, Kogi and Zamfara State Governments for heading to the Supreme Court to get court injunction to extend the deadline for the validity of three old notes.

The National Chairman of the Action Alliance, Kenneth Udeze, who briefed the pressmen, said, “We hereby announce that at least 13 out of the 18 political parties in Nigeria will not be interested in the 2023 general elections and indeed we shall withdraw our participation from the electoral process if this currency policies are suspended or cancelled or if the deadline is further shifted.”

The CBN on October 26, 2022, announced its plan to redesign the three banknotes. The President subsequently unveiled the redesigned N200, N500, and N1,000 notes on November 23, 2022, while the apex bank fixed a January 31 deadline for the validity of the old notes.

The CBN also pegged its weekly cash withdrawal limits to N500,000 for individuals and N5m for corporate firms.

With cries by many Nigerians, the apex bank extended the deadline from January 31 to February 10, saying it got the approval of the President.

Buhari on Friday after a meeting with some APC governors asked for seven days to make a major decision on the policy.