- Senate President Godswill Akpabio accused former CBN Governor Godwin Emefiele of redesigning Naira notes to disrupt voting during the last general election
- Akpabio questioned the nominee for CBN governor if they would resist political interference and avoid actions that could disrupt elections
Senate President Godswill Akpabio has stated that the redesigned Naira notes introduced by former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) governor Godwin Emefiele prior to the last general election were designed to disrupt voting.
WITHIN NIGERIA previously reported that Emefiele announced the re-design of N200, N500, and N1,000 naira notes in October 2022.
He said the old naira notes would be legal tender until January 31, 2023.
This necessitated the exchange of old naira notes for the redesigned currencies before the deadline expired.
According to Emefile, the policy was intended to transition the country from a cash-based to a cashless economy. According to the former CBN governor, as of September 2022, N2.73 trillion naira of the N3.23 trillion naira in circulation was not in the banking system.
The currency redesign policy, on the other hand, had unintended consequences and caused hardship for citizens.
Akapbio asked Olayemi Cardoso, nominee for the position of CBN governor, and four deputy governor nominees for the apex bank, on the Senate floor on Tuesday if he would meddle in politics like his predecessor.
He didn’t say Emefiele’s name, but it was clear he was referring to him.
He said:
CBN Governor, will you uphold the integrity, steadfastness to resist when politicians come to you to join the presidential race and display your posters even as a sitting CBN Governor in political conventions?
Will you rush to display your profile electronically at political conventions while sitting as a governor because politicians have told you that you have enough money in CBN to do it?
Don’t forget the fact that the money in the Central Bank isn’t for you. Will you have the courage to resist the temptation to listen to politicians and throw your hat into the ring and go back to your office and sit as CBN governor?
Will you rush to sabotage the election in Nigeria by going for new notes, two days to the election when no country in the world changes new notes within one year, you do your own in 14 days or 11 to see how you can sabotage the election in Nigeria?