Former All Progressive Congress national chairman, Adams Oshiomhole, has accused the Central Bank of Nigeria of deceiving the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (Ret’d.) concerning the redesign of the naira notes.
Recall that, Buhari had in November 2022 approved the redesign of the N1,000, N500, and N200 notes.
A move which has generated mixed reactions from the citizens, especially, with the recent scarcity of the newly redesigned notes, causing hardship among Nigerians who struggle to engage in their daily business activities as the February 10th deadline draws nearer.
The APC chieftain, while speaking on Channels TV on Sunday, faulted the policy, saying it is a senseless plot by the apex bank to scuttle the general elections. According to him, the bank sold an anti-corruption motive to the President which made him approve the policy.
Oshiomhole said, “So, I can guess – I was not there – that in obtaining the approval, I believe the CBN deceived the President by amplifying the need to have corruption-free electioneering as if election is the only project this President has a responsibility for.
“The President Buhari that I know will have no difficulty in agreeing,” he said, arguing that the CBN governor Godwin Emefiele “knows better than that”.
Oshiomhole claimed that the apex bank had other motives than it orojected to the president.
He said, “You could see that the intention of the Bank is not to eliminate abuses but to stop the elections from taking place.”
According to him, the move was meant to cause unrest, shift the government’s attention and ultimately make the ruling APC lose the elections.
He added, “If you have riots like you had in Ibadan and Benin – I don’t know anywhere else – and they were taking place simultaneously, and you are now dealing with the issue of protecting lives and properties, will elections become a priority?
“So, it is in that context that whoever scuttles the elections would have scuttled the chances of the APC winning the election.”