Senate President, Lawan Regrets Naira Policy Implementation

President of the Nigerian Senate, Ahmad Lawan, has regretted the hardship being suffered by Nigerians following the implementation of the new naira policy.

Naija News reports that the currency redesign and naira swap policy is an initiative of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), which is aimed at addressing some challenges in the country, including vote buying, money laundering, and improving the economy, among others.

However, there have been lamentations and a series of controversies since the policy was implemented with the consent of President Muhammadu Buhari.

Reacting to the current situation before the 2023 general elections, Senator Lawan, on Thursday, said though they all agreed about the merit of the policy, its poor implementation has no doubt brought hardship to millions of Nigerians.

Naija News understands that Lawan noted this in a statement where he sued for peace and urged eligible Nigerians to go out and vote for the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC) in the forthcoming elections.

The Senate president said: “I sincerely empathise with fellow Nigerians regarding the hardship being experienced across our land in the implementation of the currency redesign policy of the Central Bank of Nigeria.

“Even though we all agree on the merits of the policy, its implementation gap, unfortunately, brought enormous hardship upon citizens across the country.

“However, I wish to assure us that with appropriate intervention by the government and the collaboration of all stakeholders, this hardship will soon fade away, and normalcy will be restored to our daily livelihoods.”

Nigeria Is The Only Country We Have

Lawan further appealed to the people to eschew violence and instead make these elections a celebration of democracy in the country.

He noted that Nigeria is the only country that there is to all citizens, hence they should play their parts in sustaining its peace, unity and progress at all times.

He said: “As we go to our respective polling units to participate in the elections of a new President and Members of the 10th National Assembly on Saturday, February 25, 2023; to be followed by the elections of state Governors and Members of State Houses of Assembly on Saturday, March 11, 2023, I urge us all to be of good conduct and make the exercise peaceful.

“I call on all Nigerians who have registered and collected their Permanent Voters Cards to go to their polling units on the appointed days to responsibly exercise their civic responsibility and democratic right to elect their governments and representatives in Parliament at the State and Federal levels.”

He added, “We should always be proud of our right and duty under our hard-won democracy to elect our leaders. So, let’s make this a celebration of democracy in our beloved country.

“And as we discharge this responsibility, we should always be mindful that Nigeria is the only country that we have. We should therefore play our parts in sustaining its peace, unity and progress at all times.”