The Joint Front of Civil Society Organisations of Nigeria (JFCSON) has described the Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP) support for the naira redesign policy—and the backing of its presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar—as “suspicious.” In a statement signed by its National President, Barnabas Yock, on Thursday, JFCSON questioned why elements of the PDP, including Atiku, openly endorse an unpopular policy while several governors have filed a suit against the Federal Government over the resulting scarcity of the naira.
Yock alleged that PDP governors are planning to exploit the crisis in various parts of the country to disrupt the February 25 elections. He also accused party leaders of colluding with the Central Bank of Nigeria Governor, Godwin Emefiele. “We find it quite suspicious that, at a time when even governors of states controlled by the All‑Progressives Congress are joining the public outcry against the pains and confusion caused by the CBN’s cashless policy, the PDP—supposedly the main opposition party—is openly supporting the policy,” the statement said.
The statement noted that Atiku Abubakar was the first PDP figure to declare support for the policy, and that other prominent PDP members, including state governors, have since followed suit. “The PDP’s support for this anti‑people policy, which is wreaking havoc on families and communities across the country and potentially leading to greater unrest, was exposed when the governors of Bayelsa and Edo—both PDP states—joined as defendants in a suit filed by mainly APC governors challenging the policy at the Supreme Court,” it added.
Yock argued that many PDP‑controlled states backing the policy are already grappling with the anger it has provoked, suggesting a link between the party and a “sinister device” to use the escalating cash crisis to hinder the conduct of elections. He further claimed that CBN Governor Godwin Emefiele, described as a product of the PDP inherited by the current APC government, is part of a “grand plot” with PDP colleagues and privileged forces in the administration to sabotage the elections for personal, dubious interests.
JFCSON called on Nigerians to remain vigilant and to use their voter cards to hold office‑seekers accountable. “While we restate our commitment to challenge, resist, and reject any such move under whatever pretext, we alert the nation and the global community as to where blame would ultimately lie in the event of a rupture in the system,” the statement read. It concluded by urging voters to stay alert to the country’s direction and to use their permanent voter cards to expose any treachery seeking to manipulate elections.
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