Naira Scarcity: I Need 70 Million Naira To Prosecute My Election – Doguwa

The Majority Leader in the House of Representatives, Alhassan Doguwa, has said the current naira scarcity in the country will not allow him to meet his expenses for the forthcoming elections.

Doguwa, who is the Chairman of the Adhoc Committee on naira redesign, said he needs 70 million Naira, which is permitted by the Electoral Act, to cover his expenses for the general election.

The lawmaker stated this on Thursday after a meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.

Doguwa added that without the money in “hard copy”, lawmakers seeking to return to the National Assembly and those aspiring to be elected would be at a disadvantage.

Speaking on the naira scarcity, Doguwa stated that the naira redesign policy of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is a good one but the implementation is awful, stressing that the policy is counterproductive if it causes suffering and pain to Nigerians.

Doguwa, therefore, called on the banks to immediately release the N200 notes to the public in line with President Buhari’s directive.

He said: “Now that the President has issued the directive, how do we ensure that the president’s directive is being carried out on the ground? This is what we came to iron out today.

“No matter how professional a policy is, it is counterproductive if it induces suffering on Nigerians.

“A member of the House of Representatives is expected by law to have [no] more than N70 million naira to conduct his elections, logistics, and other things. The law has permitted me to have N70 million as logistics. I need to have this N70 million in hard copy.

“As I speak to you, I don’t have it, which means if this policy continues this way if the central bank fails to make available this money, we need to fund our elections. Definitely, every candidate, no matter what party he belongs to, will be put at disadvantage.”