Dogara Hails Buhari’s Stand On Naira Crisis

Former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, has praised President Muhammadu Buhari for refusing to allow old naira notes to remain as legal tender despite the unavailability of the newly redesigned ones.

According to him, Buhari’s action which goes against the Supreme Court order will prevent vote buying in the presidential election.

Dogara said this at a town hall meeting organised by the Atiku-Okowa Campaign Organisation on Saturday.

He said, “I want to specifically commend President Buhari over the initiative to curb vote buying in the forthcoming general elections. I am not uninformed of nor unaffected by the hardship caused by the Naira redesign and swap policy but I want to plead with Nigerians to endure it for these few weeks as sacrifice for a free, fair and credible election.

“Its a life lesson: that just as injury has pains so also recovery has pains. But if we have to get healed, we have to endure the pains. I urge us all to trudge on in the hope that these pains may truly be the birth pangs we may endure for a New Nigeria to be born.

“For those critising the president on the issue of timing, I want to remind them in the words of Dr King Jnr that time is eternally neutral and , “the time is always ripe to do right.“ let me end by calling on CBN to ensure the redesigned notes are made available to our people but even if the CBN failed to do so, my plea to all Nigerians is to endure the pains for few more weeks for our votes to count and for us to elect a president we truly deserve.

“Let me emphatically say that the President has the sole constitutional powers over currency matters and all those busy running their mouths because they have been denied the opportunity to deploy the ill- gotten naira they have stashed to buy votes, that they are committing treason.

“The president is absolutely right not to have given in to the greed of the few against the needs of the many. While the president is right to have acted on what he knows and in the best interest of the country, his traducers are petty, unpatriotic, treacherous and grossly irresponsible.

“Therefore, Mr. President deserves our thunderous applause. Whoever writes it, history will be kind to Mr. President if he doesn’t give in or give up on his resolve to ensure a free, fair and credible democratic election no matter the cost on the 25th February, 2023 as scheduled by INEC.”