The Agro Commodities Directorate of the All Progressives Congress Presidential Campaign Council (APC PCC) has made a request to President Muhammadu Buhari to consider allowing both the old and new currency notes to remain legal tender for a minimum of one year.
The directorate expressed concern about the difficulties faced by farmers across Nigeria due to a shortage of naira. The extension would assist a majority of rural farmers who do not have bank accounts.
A joint statement was issued in Abuja on Thursday by the director and secretary of the directorate, Alhaji Abubakar Udulu Bello and Comrade Retson Tedheke, highlighting that farmers are being severely impacted by the new monetary policy. The PCC maintained that the naira redesign policy is causing harm to the livelihoods of farmers in rural Nigeria.
The statement indicated that due to the scarcity of new notes in rural farming communities, farmers are being forced to sell their produce at prices below their cost of production, which erodes the benefits brought to them by the Buhari Agriculture Revolution. This situation also poses a threat to the food security of the country.
The PCC appealed to President Buhari to direct the Central Bank of Nigeria to allow both old and new notes to be used for a minimum of one year while gradually phasing out the old notes once they reach banks. The campaign council also encouraged the CBN to establish a rural banking system that will promote cashless banking in rural communities.
The directorate expressed support for Tinubu’s rural agricultural hub initiative, which it believes will make rural Nigeria more productive, bankable and developed. The directorate also assured the party’s presidential candidate that farmers stand behind his aspirations and are prepared to ensure his victory in the upcoming elections on February 25.
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