With only a few days to the 2023 presidential election, the lingering scarcity of the new naira banknotes may affect the conduct of the polls if it is not quickly resolved. Across the country, the implementation of the naira redesign policy has been trailed with criticisms. Unfortunately, the naira crisis has led to widespread anger, confusion and uncertainty in the land.
That is why some banks have reportedly halted their services following the destruction of some of their facilities across the country. And in some states, angry protesters have barricaded major roads with bonfires and harassed road users. This has affected the economy, which is primarily cash-based, despite government’s efforts to promote the cashless policy.
Earlier, the Chairman of the National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, had raised the alarm that the scarcity of the new naira notes could disrupt the conduct of the elections. Yakubu stated this when he met with the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele. Based on the fact that many of the service providers engaged by the commission had no bank accounts, the INEC boss solicited the support of the apex bank to ensure a hitch-free exercise. The CBN boss should ensure that INEC is not starved of the needed funds to conduct the polls.
Without having the needed cash, it will be difficult for the commission to engage the services of transporters and others. Although the CBN governor has assured to provide INEC with the necessary financial support to conduct the elections, anything that will hinder the successful conduct of the polls must be equally addressed now.
We enjoin President Muhammadu Buhari to quickly address noticeable challenges that will affect the seamless conduct of the elections. Nigerians and members of the international community are watching. Nigerians will not entertain any excuse for failure to deliver a free, fair and credible election. The pains Nigerians are passing through due to the scarcity of new naira notes are becoming unbearable. Some of them can be induced by desperate politicians to sell their votes.
Anything that will compromise the integrity of the 2023 polls must be avoided. The recent ex parte order by the Supreme Court, which restrained the CBN on the February 10 deadline for the naira cash swap, only provided a temporary reprieve. The gains of that reprieve might have been vitiated by Thursday’s broadcast of the President. While the President acknowledged the pains of Nigerians in the past few weeks on account of the naira swap policy, he only extended the validity of the old N200 notes until April 10, 2023. Nigerians are waiting for the February 22 when the Supreme Court will adjudicate on the matter.
There is no doubt that the cash crunch across the country has worsened the lingering fuel shortage, which has exacerbated the hardship and frustration of Nigerians. Without making the new naira notes available in appreciable quantity, the situation may deteriorate further. That is why the CBN should heed the President’s directive to make the old N200 and the new naira notes available to bank customers and other Nigerians.
Due to the scarcity of the new naira notes, experts have estimated that Nigeria might be losing about a total Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of $18million and a total of 120 man-hours every five days since the cash crunch began. The decline in GDP growth is attributed to the reduction in the volume of money in circulation and total man-hours loss in the economy. Trading alone contributes about 16 per cent of the formal GDP and employs about 17 per cent of the labour force in the country.
About 60 per cent of Nigerians are believed not to have bank accounts, and this could explain the present high level of anger and frustration over the naira crisis. In all, the naira crisis may affect the participation of voters as well as the conduct of the polls.
And if many Nigerians fail to come out for the elections, it is going to affect the outcome. Therefore, we urge the President and other stakeholders to address all the challenges that are likely to affect the conduct of the elections. Above all, nothing should be allowed to disrupt the polls.