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By Gowin Chukwumaechi, Port Harcourt
A cleric in Port Harcourt, Rivers State capital has pleaded with the Federal Government and the Central Bank of Nigeria to act fast and save ordinary Nigerians from the suffocating effects of the scarcity of the redesigned Naira notes by conducting direct swap of the redesigned N200, N500 and N1000 notes.
Pastor Kingsley Nwachukwu, founder and chief worker of Eleutheria Church in Port Harcourt made the call based on his observation of the scarcity of the new naira notes and its attendant consequences on citizens.
He said the presidency and the CBN have a duty to rescue the masses, who he said are trapped in the fight between the CBN and the commercial banks which have been accused of hoarding the new naira notes.
Pastor Nwachukwu spoke at the thanksgiving church service of the Correspondents Chapel Press Week 2022/2023.
He urged the authorities to use the extended 10 days to mobilise teams to churches, mosques, and markets to attempt to mop up old notes in return for new ones so the masses would not be subjected to the suffering the scarcity have created in the society.
The cleric said the CBN and the FG can also go round the markets and churches to teach people how to access the e-Wallet so people can start transacting without cash.
He observed that those against the naira redesign policy seem to have ganged up with commercial banks to stop the policy by forcing the common man into suffering and mass hysteria that may lead to protests.
He warned that the masses may not survive up to the election date let alone voting if the situation is not adequately addressed; urging the CBN to move to churches and the markets to mop up old notes from the common people and give them new notes.
He suggested a limit of about N50,000 per person during the mop up exercise, “so that ordinary people can have some spending money while adjusting to new payment tools like e-Wallet and new CBN card as well as inter-bank transfers and cheques.
“Getting the ordinary people happily on the side of the FG and the CBN would be to the utter disappointment of those working to stop the change”, Pastor Nwachukwu stated.
The cleric said churches, mosques and the markets were the places to find the true masses that genuinely need small amounts in new naira notes.
He said the CBN can continue to wrestle with the mega naira merchants but should take care of the common man so the naira warehouse owners don’t use the ordinary man as shield to battle the CBN.
He said he does not know who the commercial banks support in this battle but that the CBN should pull the masses out of the door so the real enemies can stand clear and apart.
In his sermon which he tagged ‘Divine Visitation,’ he appealed to people of Nigeria to endeavour to attract divine visitations reminding them that there must be something being done by a person, a family, a group or a nation to attract divine intervention.
Pastor Nwachukwu advised husbands to learn to negotiate matters so that their homes can succeed and their marriages can triumph.
Any time God is visiting, he stated, it is for four reasons namely; to fulfill a promise, to bless, to instruct, or for judgment. “You are the one to attract which one to happen to you.”
He said love conquers every situation, stressing; “when God visits you, respond by living happily with your neighbours. He urged the congregation to be sensitive so they can understand the move of the spirit”.
A major way of responding to divine visitation is a life of thanksgiving, he stated adding that the Correspondents in Port Harcourt have learnt how to respond to divine visitations and favours by always going to a carefully selected church each year to thank God.
In his remarks, the chairman of the Correspondents Chapel, Mr Amaechi Okonkwo, appealed to Eleutheria Church pastors and members to commit the journalists into the hands of God during the coverage of elections in such a volatile state. He also prayed for the return of their bus that was stolen by armed men in March 2022.
