The 2023 elections should go ahead as planned, Afenifere

The Pan-Yoruba socio-political group, Afenifere, has called on the federal government and all stakeholders to ensure that the dates for this year’s elections and the May 29, 2023 handover date do not change.

Afenifere called in a press release from its spokesman, Comrade Jare Ajayi, on Monday, though it expressed concern about the trauma experienced by Nigerians in obtaining energy resources and access to new Naira notes.

This was just as the pan-Yoruba socio-political group called on the judiciary not to be used to endanger democracy through what it described as “useless and perhaps frivolous lawsuits, such as the one brought by a chief Ambrose Albert Owuru who wanted to stop the upcoming presidential election.”

“Fortunately, the case heard by Honorable Judge Inyang Edem Ekwo of a federal high court in Abuja was dismissed on Monday,” it said.

The pan-Yoruba socio-political group argued during the call that the need to repeat the sanctity of the February/March elections became necessary, in part because of the alarm of Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) spokesman Dr. Hakeem Baba. -Hamed, the possibility of using the court to thwart the electoral process, as well as difficulties inflicted on Nigerians whose consequences can be used as an excuse to jeopardize continued civil rule.

“The contrived pains can be seen in the unabated uncertainty, heightened difficulties in obtaining fuel, in obtaining new Naira notes and in obtaining other sources of energy such as electricity, gas, kerosene and diesel.

“If the difficulties experienced in these areas persist and Nigerians begin to react, their (peaceful) expression of frustration could be used as an excuse for wanting to tinker with the ongoing democratic experiment. That would not be acceptable in any way,” Afenifere said.

It should be recalled that the ACF director of publicity and advocacy, Dr. Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, revealed last Friday, January 27, that there were insinuations that the planned elections might not go ahead, claiming that “some kind of unconstitutional device could be enforced on Nigerians after May this year.”

However, while Afenifere said it was on the same page as ACF in its warning, he stated that Nigerians would not accept living under an arrangement that violates the 1999 Constitution.

“Nigerians will not accept living under an arrangement that violates the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,” the group stated.

It argued that while it had advocated vigorously for a constitution that would usher in a restructured Nigeria, for the time being citizens had no choice but to abide by the constitution’s provisions, particularly on how governments should be democratic in the country, which it said through both the election process and the peaceful handover to the winner.

Commentary on the trauma Nigerians must endure ahead of the announcement of the extension of the banknote exchange deadline from January 31 to February 10 by Godwin Emefiele, Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Afenifere spokesperson, Ajayi , said it was symptomatic of the government’s tendency to put people through avoidable pain.

“Since the beginning of January this year, Nigerians have been calling on the CBN to extend the deadline. The calls were based on the non-availability of new Naira notes and the impossibility of exchanging the available notes for the new ones before the deadline on January 31.

“The new banknotes were difficult to obtain, both in the banks, at the Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) and at the POS,” said Ajayi.

Afenifere’s spokesperson, while appreciating the CBN’s eventual shift of the deadline to February 10, claimed that the pains and losses suffered by Nigerians last week would have been avoided “if the extension of the deadline had been announced much sooner”.

“It is indeed necessary for the government, and especially the CBN governor, to apologize to Nigerians for these avoidable afflictions and losses that they are suffering – and are still suffering,” he said.

He therefore urged that banks and outlets where people can get the new banknotes should be immediately filled with the currencies to avoid a repeat of what happened in the past two weeks.

Speaking further, Comrade Ajayi criticizes the approach taken by President Muhammadu Buhari and Emefiele to address the claim that the new currency policy targeted those who “keep illegal/stolen naira in their homes for speculative purposes”.

the policy instead harmed the poor.

According to him, “If the authorities were really out to use the policy to catch those allegedly keeping illegal/stolen money in their vaults, there are different legal and institutional frameworks for dealing with it.

“For example, there is the law that requires banks to notify security authorities as soon as a person or an organization receives or pays out large sums of money. Why not use that tool to deal with the situation instead of making life difficult for hapless Nigerians who conduct financial transactions in just tens, hundreds and thousands of naira?

“It is quite punitive, inhumane, inconsiderate and insensitive. The government and related government agencies must ensure that this does not happen again.”