Uncertainty as Council of State meets in Abuja

*Elections deferment, ING, scarcity of Naira on front burner

By Tunde Opalana

The 2023 general election, among other issues concerning the state of the nation top agenda at the Council of State meeting today (Friday) at the Aso Rock Presidential Villa.

Today’s meeting to many Nigerians, is coming at the right time when the country is almost at its kneels following the socio- economic cum political crises the nation has been plunged, just two weeks to commencement of the 2023 election.

Though heads of critical government institutions keep assuring the nation that the 2023 election dates remain sacrosanct, events in the last three weeks has been keeping Nigerians in doubt.

Nigerians are passing through hardest times with unending scarcity and queue for fuel but the suffering is now heightened by near economic breakdown caused by the unavailability of money to drive the Central Bank of Nigeria’s Naira redesigning policy.

The unbearable situation at hand no doubt is aggravating calls for a shift in election dates in other to address nagging issues.

The Council today has to weigh the options of whether to advise the Federal Government to postpone the election by three weeks as been suggested in some quarters or go with the rumoured proposition of an Interim National Government.

Proponents of election postponement it was gathered, have lobbied state governors particularly those of the All Progressives Congress (APC) to sell the idea of shifting the polls by three weeks, so that the Presidential and National Assembly elections to hold on Saturday March 18 while the Governorship and State Assemblies elections hold on Saturday April 8, 2023.

They argued that the dust raised by the new currency exchange would have settled down before the first set of polls. Presently, Nigerians in the hinterland in town and villages may not even go to their polling units to vote.

The Daily Times further learnt that a concerned group of Nigerians mainly leaders of thought across geopolitical zones have been lobbying caucus of past heads of states and past presidents under the headship of former president Olusegun Obasanjo to push for an Interim Government.

The source went further that the group are rooting for former president Good luck Jonathan to head the ING pending when the country could be said to be ready for a peaceful election.

Reasons advanced by the group include insecurity across the country. Violent protests against the unavailability of cash which started in Ibadan last weekend is fast spreading to other states with angry Nigerians destroying banks ATMs forcing banks to close offices , thereby aggravating the bitting economic crunch.

Burring of tyres and making of bonfires on roads have forced traders off the streets in some towns and uncertainty pervades states of the federation.

If the situation is not arrested and people have access to their money, the group argued, holding election might be a mirage.

The Council of State would also need to look into the hanging legal tussle between the Supreme Court and the Federal Government over the apex court’s restraint of both FGN and CBN to terminate exchange of old naira notes for the scarce new notes.

Also of concern is the unabated violence in the South East region which has recorded highest incidents of arsonist attacks on facilities of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and wanton destruction of election materials.

Even the INEC chairman Prof. Mahmood Yakubu who has been talking tough about going ahead with the polls expressed intermittent concern that spate of attacks on facilities of the Commission and cost of replacing destroyed election materials could no doubt hamper successful conduct of elections.

Yakubu in the past few days visited heads of government agencies that are critical stakeholders to election conduct to get their reassurance for cooperation.

The CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele assured of providing cash to pay for election logistics services, the National Security Adviser, Babagana Monguno speaking the minds of security service chiefs promised election safety while the Director General of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), assured of deployment of youth corpers for election assignment.

Investigation revealed that there is apprehension among parents to release their children and wards for election assignment in the South East . Even security personnel from the Nigerian Police, National Security and Civil Defence Corps, Nigerian Army and journalists are apprehensive of being posted to the geopolitical zone for election.

The two major political parties, the ruling APC and opposition PDP have been engaging in allegations and refutations on efforts to stall the election.

The PDP presidential campaign team has severally alleged that the APC presidential candidate, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu wanted the election postponed or that the government establish an ING because of fear of imminent loss at the polls. But the APC denied the allegation describing it as handiwork of enemies of the party.

Efforts to get the National Peace Committee headed by former military president, Gen Abdusalam Abubakar (rtd) to comment on the issue at hand failed as several calls to the Administrator of the Kukah Centre, Rev. Father Atta Barkindo were not connecting.

But some politicians are of the opinion that the 2023 election must hold as scheduled as attempt at shifting polls is a calculated means of truncating the nation’s democratic process.

An APC House of Representatives candidate in Oyo State, Hon. Kehinde Olaosebikan though hailed the Supreme Court order of extension of date for currency exchange, he said there is nothing that necessitated call for postponement of election.

According to him, gradual withdrawal of old naira notes will ease the current tension in the land. He said “if the government allows the old note to be in circulation side by side with new notes being issued by CBN, this problem created would have been resolved and parties ho ahead with their campaign for votes and INEC conduct the election as scheduled”.

READ ALSO: 77 per cent of women in Nigeria uses bleaching creams

A former member of the Green Chamber of the National Assembly, Hon. Tunde Suara who is a member of the PDP though faulted the extension order by the Supreme Court, he also agreed that the election should hold as scheduled.

Hon. Suara said the judgement is still subjected to legal interpretation “INEC should be allowed to go ahead and dispense with the elections as scheduled”.

Attempt to postponement the election, he said “will never do anyone any good. This will further heightened the tension in the country”.

He further said “it is enemies if the country that are contemplating an Interim Government as an option”.

While the entire nation awaits the outcome of today’s meeting and what would be the reaction of the Federal Government to it, INEC said plans are on course to deliver free, fair and credible 2023 general election.