Former All Progressives Congress National Chairman Adams Oshiomhole joined other ruling‑party leaders on Sunday in claiming that the naira redesign was intended to derail the presidential election. Speaking on Channels Television’s “The 2023 Verdict,” the former Edo State governor said the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) deceived President Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd) into approving the redesign policy.
Oshiomhole exonerated Buhari from blame, noting that although he was not privy to the details behind the President’s approval, he believed Buhari was misled. According to the former governor, the bank presented the policy as an anti‑corruption measure, persuading the President that it was essential for “corruption‑free electioneering” and that the election was the President’s primary responsibility. “I was not there, but I can guess that, in obtaining the approval, the CBN deceived the President by amplifying the need for a corruption‑free election as if the election were the only project the President is responsible for,” Oshiomhole said. He added that the apex bank exploited the President’s anti‑corruption stance to secure his agreement, noting, “The President Buhari that I know would have no difficulty in agreeing.”
The former APC chairman further alleged that the CBN’s true intention was to prevent the presidential election from taking place on schedule and to undermine the APC’s chances of winning. “You could see that the intention of the bank is not to eliminate abuses but to stop the elections from taking place,” he argued. Citing simultaneous riots in Ibadan and Benin, Oshiomhole questioned whether protecting lives and property would take precedence over holding elections. “In that context, whoever scuttles the elections would also scuttle the APC’s chances of winning,” he concluded.
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