The Peoples Redemption Party on Friday became one of the first casualties of the Naira redesign policy of the Central Bank of Nigeria among political parties because it could no longer access its funds in banks.
The PRP also raised the alarm that the policy has brought untold hardship to Nigerians, saying it can no longer get access to its funds set aside for the forthcoming elections.
The party, therefore, threatened to seek redress in court against the CBN and asked for punitive damages.
The national chairman of PRP, Alhaji Falalu Bello, stated these during the presentation of its manifesto titled ‘Compact with the people: Manifesto of the PRP for 2023 election’, to journalists in Abuja
The manifesto, a six-point agenda, dealt with revamping the economy, promotion of education and human capital development, national unity and genuine federalism, enhancement of national security and revamping of the extractive industry, oil, gas and solid minerals.
Bello said the withdrawal of over N2 trillion from circulation and printing of N300 billion by the CBN was a recipe for the present crisis in Nigeria.
He said, “Any policy that denies citizens access to their money is not good and is not a good policy. It (the Naira redesign policy) is a man-made crisis that is avoidable. For the failure of this policy which made and still makes Nigerians suffer we ask that the CBN governor honorably resign failing which the president should fire him.
“As a registered political party in Nigeria and a juristic person, the PRP has been denied access to its credit balances in banks on supposed order of the CBN that has disallowed withdrawal beyond N20,000.00 across the counter.
“This order we must say is an illegal one and we are testing the powers of both the banks and the CBN from denying us access to our credit in court and will ask for punitive damages.”
The PRP chairman also insisted that the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd), must address the alleged fraud going on in the oil industry before leaving office in three months’ time.
He lamented the last eight years of the President had witnessed continuous growth in petroleum subsidy which he said the president himself had tagged as a fraud.
Bello added that the continuous wastage of the nation’s scarce resources on Warri, Kaduna and Port Harcourt refineries on which the government spent N4.15 trillion without the refineries producing must not be allowed to continue.
The PRP chairman thereafter presented a 34-page manifesto which, he said, would address the problems the country is presently passing through under the government of the All Progressives Congress.
The PRP presidential candidate of PDP, Kola Abiola, said the party would be accountable to people, adding that “a lot of things you see in this manifesto is something we would do if we are elected by the grace of God.”
“We are here because we want to serve the interest of the common man, mentor the next generation and also correct the wrongs in the past. In the next four years, Nigerians would see a different Nigeria. We live and stand by our manifesto”, Abiola stated.