With the general elections less than seven days away, controversies surrounding the naira design policy of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) continue to gain more media coverage.
This has prompted political participants to analyse its impact on the upcoming elections.
Festus Keyamo, the principal spokesperson for the Presidential Campaign Council of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), while appearing on Channels made some claims in an attempt to defend the stand of some party members regarding the policy.
Claim: This is not the first time APC governors are taking the president to court
Keyamo, while defending the outburst of APC Governors who legally challenged the decision of the CBN and the President in regard to the redesign policy; stated that it was not the first time, APC governors were taking the president to court.
He further cited two cases which are the executive orders concerning the judiciaries and legislature, as well as payments that were to be made concerning the Paris club refund.
Verification
In 2020, the governors of the 36 states in Nigeria took President Muhammadu Buhari to the Supreme Court over Executive Order No. 00-10 of 2020 signed in May 2020.
This was to push the Federal Government’s responsibility of funding both the capital and recurrent expenditures of the state high courts, Sharia Court of Appeal and the Customary Court of Appeal, to the state governments.
The order was to grant financial autonomy to the legislature and the judiciary in the 36 states of the federation. It sought to empower the Accountant-General of the Federation to deduct funds for the state legislature and the judiciary from the Federation Allocations to the states.
The case was won by the governors in a split judgment by the supreme court in February 2020.
In March 2022, the 36 state Governors appealed a decision by a Federal high court that challenged the planned deduction of $418 million from the Federation Account.
The suit which was dismissed on March 25 challenged the deduction inferring that the money was meant to settle debts owed consultants engaged by state and local governments on the Paris Club refunds.
Verdict
True. Governors had previously taken Buhari to court in 2020 and 2022. The case involved all sitting governors including those from the APC.
Claim 2: N5bn is approved by law for presidential elections
Keyamo, further claimed that the amount approved by law for a presidential campaign is N5 billion as approved by law.
According to the electoral act, section 88 (2), the maximum amount a candidate can spend on an election is N5billion.
“The maximum election expenses to be incurred by a candidate at a presidential election shall not exceed N5,000,000,000.”
The law further explains that an individual is not expected to exceed, N50,000,000 in donations for an election to a candidate.
“No individual or other entity shall donate to a candidate more than N50,000,000.”
This amount is not the budget but an estimate of what campaign expenditure should not exceed.
Verdict: True
Claim 3: PDP has said severally that they know those who are burning INEC centres
Keyamo, claimed that the opposition party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) had on several occasions insisted that they were aware of those burning down the centres of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
Verification
Using a simple google search, we found out that the PDP had on several occasions accused the APC of being the masterminds of the numerous fire incidents razing INEC offices in several states.
These accusations can be traced even as far back as 2019, during the presidential elections of that year.
As of 2021, the PDP further accused the APC of plans to set INEC offices ablaze.
In May 2022, the spokesman of the party, Kola Ologbondiyan in a statement accused the APC of being complacent in the burning of INEC centres across the country.
They further called on the acting Inspector General of Police, Usman Alkali to immediately invite APC leaders for questioning in connection with the burning of INEC offices.
Verdict
True. The PDP during every election period postulates that the APC was involved in setting INEC offices ablaze.
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