By; BAYO AKAMO, Ibadan
Pan-Yoruba socio-political organization, Afenifere on Monday, cautioned against attempts at changing this year’s elections and the handing-over date from May 29, 2023.
Afenifere in a statement in Ibadan by its National Secretary, Comrade Jare Ajayi, charged the government and all the stakeholders to ensure that there is no change in the elections and the handing-over date
According to the Pan Yoruba socio political organization, the need to reiterate ” the sancrosancy of February/March elections became imperative partly due to the alarm note sounded by the spokesman of Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), Dr. Hakeem Baba-Hamed, possibility of using the court to thwart the election process as well as difficulties being inflicted on Nigerians whose consequences may be used as excuse to jeopardize the ongoing civil rule”.
Afenifere emphasized that, we are on the same page with ACF in its warning that, “Nigerians will not accept to live under any arrangement that offends the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria”, adding, ” the contrived pains can be seen in the unabated insecurity, heightened difficulties in getting fuel, in getting new Naira notes and in getting other energy sources such as electricity, gas, kerosene and diesel”.
” If the difficulties being experienced in these areas continued and Nigerians begin to react, their (peaceful) expression of frustration may be used as an excuse to want to tinker with the democratic experiment going on. Such would not be acceptable in any way”, it said.
Afenifere while commenting on the trauma that Nigerians are being made to pass through before the announcement of the extension of deadline in currency notes’ swap from January 31 to February 10 by the CBN Governor, maintained that it was ” symptomatic of government’s penchant for making the people go through avoidable pains.”
According to Afenifere, ” from the beginning of January this year, Nigerians have been calling on the CBN to extend the deadline. The calls were predicated on the non-availability of new Naira notes and the impossibility of being able to have the ones on hand swapped for the new ones before the expiration of the deadline on January 31. The new notes were difficult to obtain either inside the banks, on the Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) or from the POS.”
Afenifere while appreciating the eventual shift of the deadline to February 10 by the CBN, asserted that the pains and losses suffered by Nigerians last week would have been avoided “were the extension of the deadline announced much earlier.
