Despite the unalloyed support President Muhammadu Buhari gave to Godwin Emefiele, Governor, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on naira redesign, Kano State Governor, Abdullahi Umar Ganduje is trying to vindicate the president.
Ganduje claimed Emefiele redesigned the naira notes because he was not able to contest for president. According to reports, a group had purchased a presidential form for the CBN boss last year when presidential contenders were picking their forms.
Speaking to newsmen after meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday, Ganduje alleged that Emefiele does not want to see the 2023 elections held. The Kano Governor disclosed that APC governors told President Buhari that the change in currency notes will put Nigerians in dire suffering.
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According to him, the decision was taken by Emefiele and some figures in Aso Rock surrounding President Buhari to cripple the conduct of the 2023 elections.
His words: “This is not the agenda of the APC, it is the agenda of those who surrounded the president, and he, the CBN Governor, who wanted to be the President but it failed. That’s why they want either the election not to take place, or another party to win it.
“We are against this system of currency exchange by the Governor of the Central Bank and those around the Presiden.”
Ganduje was not alone. His Kaduna State counterpart, Nasir el-Rufai and Jafaar Jafaar, a journalist who exposed his dollar kickback, had similar views.
El-Rufai had alleged that there are some figures in the presidency that perpetrated this to halt the election or fail Bola Ahmed Tinubu, APC presidential flagbearer. According to El-Rufai, governors of the North will do their best to ensure that power returns to the South in the next election.
said Emefiele’s election eve naira swap is politically motivated
“While Emefiele was licking his wounds over the botched presidential dream, he got an intel that BAT (Bola Ahmed Tinubu) had moved logistics to states,” Jafaar tweeted. “Emefiele then remembered it was time Nigeria redesigned its currency. He sold the idea to the president, who approved posthaste without consulting the finance minister, economic team, National Assembly, etc.”
‘NO GOING BACK’ — BUHARI
The president had after a meting with King Charles III at the Buckingham palace in London, stated that his government would not go back on the planned redesign of N1, 000, N500, and N200 notes by the CBN.
“No going back,” said Buhari, adding enough time had been given for Nigerians to swap their old notes with the new ones.
“On this change of currency, there will be a lot of money but time has been given from October to December, three months is enough for whatever money you have, to get it changed through the legal system. So, I don’t know why people are complaining about it. My aim is to make sure that Nigerians believe that we respect them as an administration,” he added.
The president who spoke in a Hausa radio interview, said the reasons given to him by the CBN was convincing. According to him, the policy would help address issues of inflation, currency counterfeiting, and the excess cash in circulation.
“People with illicit money buried under the soil will have a challenge with this, but workers, businesses with legitimate incomes will face no difficulties at all,” the president had stated.
In the interview, the president also addressed the issues of food security and national security, among others.
In an apparent move to tackle vote-buying and control the amount of money in circulation, the CBN last month announced a redesign of the currency in the variations of N200, N500, and N1, 000.
SEVEN DAYS WINDOW
As Nigerians groaned that the new notes are not in circulation, the president, yesterday, asked fro seven days to fix the scarcity.
The president said he has seen reports about cash shortages and the effect on local businesses and ordinary people, according to TheCable.
“I will revert to the CBN and the Minting Company,” said Buhari. “There will be a decision one way or the other in the remaining seven days of the 10-day extension.”
Babaji Usman Babaji is an investigative journalist with over four years of experience, renowned for his impactful reporting on corruption, human rights violations, and holding those in power accountable in Nigeria.
His career is distinguished by participation in numerous media training programs and conferences, which have honed his investigative and reporting skills. Babaji’s data-driven stories have made a significant impact, particularly in Northern Nigeria, shedding light on critical issues and driving meaningful change.
As a reporter under WikkiTimes’ Collaborative Media (CMEDIA) Project, Babaji has led several groundbreaking investigations. He was a 2022 fellow of the Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development (CJID) and a 2024 Media Foundation for West Africa DPI/DPG fellow. His contributions to accountability journalism earned him a Certificate of Recognition from Xchange Hama Media for impactful community work.