Money printing saga: PDP asks Buhari to sack finance minister

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has asked President Muhammadu Buhari to sack Zainab Ahmed, minister of finance, and replace her with a better hand.

The main opposition party accused the minister of “attempting to mislead Nigerians” over allegations that the federal government printed N60 billion to support states’ allocations in March.

Godwin Obaseki, Edo state governor, had made the allegation last week when he spoke at a forum where he argued that Nigeria is in huge financial trouble.

“When we got FAAC for March, the federal government printed additional N50-N60 billion to top-up for us to share,” he had said.

While Ahmed had described the claim as false, Godwin Emefiele, governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), had said the money was meant as loan from the apex bank.

“If you understand the concept of printing of money, it is about lending money. There is no need for all the controversy around money printing as if we are going into the factory to print naira and then distribute on the streets,” Emefiele had said.

However, in a statement on Friday, Kola Ologbondiyan, PDP spokesman, accused the federal government of not being sincere about the matter.

Ologbondiyan also asked Buhari to reveal how much the government has so far printed in similar circumstances, citing such action as a major drive for inflation in the country.

“The PDP asserts that the admission by CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, that the apex bank has been printing money at the bidding of government, has vindicated its earlier stand that the Buhari-led APC administration is characterized by concealments, deceit and falsehood,” the r statement read.

“The PDP flays the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Hajiya Zainab Ahmed, for attempting to mislead Nigerians by denying the revelations by the Edo state, Godwin Obaseki, that N60 billion was printed in March to support federal allocation to states.

“A situation where the Federal Government cannot articulate and implement policies favourable to wealth creation but resorting to borrowing and indiscriminate printing of currency notes, only goes to further confirm that the Buhari administration lacks the credibility and capacity to run a nation.

“The PDP calls out President Muhammadu Buhari to come clean on the amount that has been printed so far by the CBN to finance the deficit caused by the financial mismanagement of his government as well as what the funds had been used for.

“Furthermore, for failing the full disclosure test, the PDP demands that the Minister of Finance should immediately be relieved of her position, while the President accepts responsibility for the indiscriminate printing of currency in our naira.”