The Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, has criticised the implementation of the naira redesign policy of the Central Bank of Nigeria, bringing hardship on many Nigerians.

He empathised with the people finding it difficult to meet their basic needs as a result of what he called poor implementation of the policy.

The Senate president made this known in a statement on Thursday where he also appealed to the people to eschew violence and urged eligible Nigerians to vote for candidates of the All Progressives Congress.

He said, “I sincerely empathise with fellow Nigerians the hardship being experienced across our land in the implementation of the currency redesign policy of the Central Bank of Nigeria.

“Even though we all agree on the merits of the policy, its implementation gap, unfortunately, brought enormous hardship upon citizens across the country.

“However, I wish to assure us that with appropriate intervention by the government and the collaboration of all stakeholders, this hardship will soon fade away and normalcy will be restored to our daily livelihoods.”

He urged Nigerians to play their parts in sustaining peace, unity and progress of Nigeria.

Lawan said, “As we go to our respective polling units to participate in the elections of a new President and members of the 10th National Assembly on Saturday, February 25, 2023; to be followed by the elections of state governors and members of state Houses of Assembly on Saturday, March 11, 2023, I urge us all to be of good conduct and make the exercise peaceful.

“I call on all Nigerians who have registered and collected their Permanent Voters Cards to go to their polling units on the appointed days to responsibly exercise their civic responsibility and democratic right to elect their governments and representatives in Parliament at the State and Federal levels.”

He added, “We should always be proud of our right and duty under our hard-won democracy to elect our leaders. So, let’s make this a celebration of democracy in our beloved country.

“And as we discharge this responsibility, we should always be mindful that Nigeria is the only country that we have. We should therefore play our parts in sustaining its peace, unity and progress at all times.”

The Senate President appealed to Nigerians to go out and cast their votes for the APC presidential candidate, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, and his running mate, Senator Kashim Shettima.

He said, “The All Progressives Congress has vigorously campaigned in all the states of the federation and Abuja to explain why Nigerians should again vote for our party and candidates.

“The past years since 2015 under our government have recorded some gains in the face of enormous challenges. Nigerians are witnesses to these achievements across the sectors in all the six geopolitical zones of our country.”

Lawan added “Our Presidential Candidate, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, and his running mate, Senator Kashim Shettima, are tested in government and will surely renew our hope in a brighter future through their carefully thought-out agenda. Therefore, I earnestly urge you all to cast your votes for the APC and all its candidates again from the top down to the bottom.

“The ninth National Assembly has done much to strengthen our electoral system by enacting the Electoral Act 2022 that has empowered the Independent National Electoral Commission to better manage the electoral process. The Act has many innovations designed to make your votes count. This has given Nigerians and our friends in the international community great confidence that the 2023 polls will be the best that we have seen under our growing democracy.”