Kaduna State Governor Nasir El Rufai asserted that the Central Bank of Nigeria would favour the opposition Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, if the Naira redesign strategy were implemented.
The governor talked during an interview with Voice of America’s Hausa Service (VOA).
“Those who devised the programme to prevent us from having cash during elections have succeeded,” he declared, “since there hasn’t been any cash on the ground; it has been hidden.
“But, we learned that PDP candidates have received new money, which they will all distribute to voters on election day.
“I’m asking the people to realise that those who give you money are the ones who stole the money that was intended to be provided to you. I suggest you to do something about that.”
In spite of the CBN’s deadline, Governor El Rufai recently instructed state residents to keep using the old naira notes due to a shortage of the latter.
In addition, he said in a widely shared video interview that “God will battle for us” and that “Anybody who believes governors are not bothered about what’s going on in the country, simply this one (currency reform) is completely wrong.
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How many times did we sit down with the president to discuss this topic, including the redesign of the currency? When we realised the issue was going nowhere while we were sitting with the CBN governor, we came to the conclusion that going to court would be the best course of action, and that is what everyone knows.
The governor outlined how some individuals with special interests were responsible for the currency redesign as one of the reasons they took the case to court.
In particular, he claimed that when the All Progressives Congress filed a lawsuit, a candidate for the People’s Democratic Party appeared in court and declared that they supported the government’s policy of subjecting citizens to hardship. As a result, he argued, the deadline for the currency should not be extended.
Thus, any rational person will conclude that this strategy was developed by a small group of individuals who then sold it to the president rather than by the APC or the government.
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