The Supreme Council for Shari’ah in Nigeria (SCSN) objected to the currency swap’s 10-day extension, arguing that a five-month extension would be preferable to give rural residents sufficient access to banks.
All of the upcoming general elections should be held on the same day, the administration was urged to convince the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to do so.
The council’s secretary general, Nafiu Baba Ahmed, told reporters in Kaduna that “We are in sync with the National Assembly on the five-month currency exchange from the old to new naira notes.
“In our opinion, the period will give residents in remote areas without banks the chance to visit. Along with widespread knowledge of the naira exchange
The council made a note on the polls that some desperate politicians are already getting ready to start a crisis or halt the elections while fully aware that they may lose the elections.
Security services may not be able to withstand the impending political violence, a security source told the Council.
“Due to the violence from the first election, there is a great likelihood that the second election will not take place.
It will not be practical.
“The presidential and National Assembly elections are the first elections. Because of the unstable security situation in the nation and the security agencies’ admission that they are overworked, our concern is that certain desperate politicians who might lose the election will incite political violence to the point that the succeeding elections might not be valid.
“In light of this, we interact with everyone who matters. Some of the top security officials we talked with acknowledged their comprehension of the issue and concurred with us that their staff is already stretched thin. And dealing with political violence will be a difficult issue.
Therefore, we recommended that INEC be pressured into holding all the polls on the same day. By doing this, we can prevent a scenario where certain desperate politicians who are set to lose can destabilize the nation and leave us with elections that are only partially held.
“Recall that President Jonathan delayed the 2015 elections for a less important reason, yet the polls were still held. We thus appeal to all well-intentioned Nigerians, the government, and INEC in particular, to change their stance and organize the polls to take place in a single day.
“We at the Supreme Council for Shari’a will do everything in our power to urge Nigerians to make the required sacrifice to cast their ballots, regardless of how long it takes; let’s vote in one day and have the elections in one day so that everything is clear to everyone.
The council expressed the opinion that the date of the national population count should be delayed for the time being.
