Kano State Governor Abdullahi Ganduje has accused President Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd) of using the naira redesign policy to undermine Nigeria’s democracy. Speaking in Kano on Wednesday evening, Ganduje addressed a delegation of former parliamentarians from the North‑West zone who had come to pledge their support for the APC presidential candidate, Bola Ahmed Tinubu. His remarks, which quickly went viral, lamented that after the APC’s collective efforts secured Buhari’s victories in 2015 and 2019, the president now seemed intent on “paying back” the party that brought him to power by destroying it.
Ganduje illustrated his point with a hypothetical: “Imagine someone who has been contesting elections without winning, then forms a merger, wins, serves a term, wins again, and as he is about to leave, he does nothing but destroy the party that elected him.” He questioned why the policy was being introduced only on the eve of an election, asking why neither the president nor Central Bank Governor Godwin Emefiele had considered it in the previous seven years. “What is wrong with doing it after elections? Why hasn’t it been done before? This CBN governor is not a politician; he knows nothing about politics,” he said, adding that the policy would cause chaos in the banking sector and threaten democracy.
Ganduje cited criticism from the World Bank, the IMF and other leaders, noting that the president claimed he needed only seven days to consider the policy. He warned that ordinary Nigerians, such as vegetable sellers, would suffer as their goods rotted before the thinking period ended. He cited his own action of closing a supermarket that rejected the old notes and reminded listeners that the Supreme Court had affirmed the old notes as legal tender. He threatened to revoke the licences of any bank that refused to accept them.
According to Ganduje, Tinubu would repeal the policy after the election. He argued that the move was not an APC initiative but part of a broader plot to disrupt the electoral process, likening it to the denial of MKO Abiola’s presidency. He described the CBN governor as the “ABN of this dispensation” and warned that the scheme aimed not merely to block a candidate but to dismantle democracy itself, potentially leading to an interim government akin to Ernest Shonekan’s. He questioned who could credibly head such a committee, suggesting that only individuals loyal to the ruling elite would be appointed to ensure their preferred candidate’s victory.
Alhaji Adamu Panda, convener of the former parliamentarians’ forum, echoed Ganduje’s concerns, stating that the next president must embrace a philosophy of nation‑building. He emphasized the importance of respecting the unwritten north‑south agreement to maintain stability and unity, adding that supporting a power shift was essential. The forum warned that if the North backed any candidate other than Tinubu, it could jeopardise the fragile north‑south relationship and push the South‑West to seek alliances elsewhere.
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