Ngige hails naira redesign, says bandits, kidnappers on ‘holiday’

Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige

The Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige, on Wednesday hailed the naira redesign policy of the Central Bank of Nigeria for achieving some “sound benefits”

Ngige, who spoke on Channels Television’s Politics Today programme, noted the policy has curbed insecurity, saying that “kidnappers are on break,” while “bandits have also gone on holidays.”

The minister, who also noted that vote buying during the 2023 general elections was reduced, however, stated that the implementation of the policy was not smooth.

He said that the pain  and suffering experienced by Nigerians would soon ease off explaining that the apex bank had released cash into the society through the commercial banks.

Ngige said, “The policy is not smooth in its implementation. I admitted that. But whether it is a good policy? Yes, it is a good policy.

“It wasn’t smooth; it came with some pain but overall, did we get some sound benefits from it? Yes, we did: people didn’t buy votes on the line (queue) during the elections.

“I used to go for elections and I know what I see. There was no cash exchange for votes. It wasn’t easy anymore. Kidnappers are on break, they are strike so to say or recess. Bandits, they have also gone on holidays.”