President Muhammadu Buhari was deceived and misled about the naira redesign policy introduced by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and consequently made to support this, former APC National Chairman, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, has said.
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Team@orientactualmags.com learned the former Edo state governor said this on Sunday night while appearing on Seun Okinbaloye’s Politics Today on Channels Television.
Oshiomhole, who is the Edo North APC senate candidate, said the CBN Governor, Mr Godwin Emefiele, took advantage of the president’s zero tolerance for corruption to convince him to approve the policy.
The former Edo state governor, who was reacting to Governor Nasir El-Rufai’s assertion that there are forces working against the APC ahead of the elections, said the policy was actually designed to truncate the 2023 general election.
‘CBN’s naira redesign policy is senseless… CBN deceived Buhari and the intention behind it was to stop the elections.
Having served as national chairman of APC which enabled me to work directly with the president, I know the trick that the CBN governor played.
We have a president who has told the world that if Nigeria does not kill corruption, corruption will kill Nigeria. So, I can guess that in obtaining the approval that the president said he gave, I believe the CBN deceived the president by amplifying the need to have a corruption-free electioneering as if election is the only project which the president has the responsibility for.
I was shocked that the CBN could pursue this senseless policy. It is not about the idea of changing currency, this governor has broken no new ground because we have changed currency before and I dare him to check the records.
When Gen Buhari changed the colours of the naira when he did in his first coming as the military head of state, he did not forbid the commercial banks from paying people in new notes, he did not impose restriction as to how much you can withdraw provided it is your lawful money.
To assume that every Nigerian is corrupt…and that this policy is meant to check corruption, the CBN is not part of institutions charged with the responsibility of ensuring free, fair and credible election’ he said.
‘I think what El-Rufai is saying is when you have a pocket of riots and protests here and there…you may end up with the situation where you are unable to conduct an election’ he added.
It will be recalled that the apex bank had on October 26 last year announced that circulation of the newly redesigned N100, N200, N500 and N1000 naira notes would begin on December 15.
Mr Godwin Emefiele had added that the move was to counter terrorism financing, hoarding of banknotes by members of the public, with statistics showing that over 85 per cent of monies in circulation were outside the vaults of the commercial banks.
The old naira notes were to cease to be legal tender on January 31 until it was extended to February 10 last week-Team@orientactualmags.com
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