Could the lack of cash derail the presidential election to be held on February 25 in the country?
With our correspondent in Lagos, Liza Fabbian
Endless queues and untraceable banknotes, vandalized ATMs and totally saturated banking applications. This is the situation facing Nigerians, at the end of their tether.
Violence erupted at the end of last week, as people still struggle to get hold of the new banknotes which are due to completely replace the old ones by February 10 – all against the backdrop of an endless fuel shortage.
On Friday, President Muhammadu Buhari asked for an additional seven days to ” solve the shortage “, but with less than three weeks of the presidential election, many wonder who can benefit from this debacle.
Distribution risk
Particularly upset, the Governor of Kaduna State recently suggested that ” hostile elements in Bola Tinubu are working against the candidate of the majority party within the presidential palace itself.
Bola Tinubu had previously opined that the gasoline and cash shortages in Nigeria were aimed at ” sabotage his campaign.
On the contrary, the People’s Democratic Party accuses the APC candidate of being the main beneficiary of the shortage. In a statement released over the weekend, the opposition said ” disgusted with the hypocrisy of Bola Tinubu ” in that case.
Meanwhile, the head of the Nigerian Electoral Commission has admitted that fuel shortages could make it difficult to distribute election materials on polling day.
►Also read: Nigeria in a complicated economic situation as the presidential election approaches