A former All Progressives Congress (APC) National Chairman, Adams Oshiomhole on Sunday said that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) deceived President Muhammadu Buhari into approving the naira redesign policy.
The former Governor of Edo state said this during an interview on Channels Television.
Oshiomhole argued that the naira redesign was aimed at sabotaging the 2023 presidential election.
Oshiomhole while explaining that he was not aware of what made Buhari sign the policy insisted that the apex bank pulled a fast one on the nation’s leader.
He alleged that the CBN convinced the President of the policy’s anti-corruption motive hence the reason Buhari signed it.
Oshiomhole said, “So, I can guess – I was not there – that in obtaining the approval, I believe the CBN deceived the President by amplifying the need to have corruption-free electioneering as if the election is the only project this President has a responsibility for.”
He added that the apex bank allegedly exploited the anti-corruption stance of the President in getting him to agree to the policy.
“The President Buhari that I know will have no difficulty in agreeing,” he said.
The former APC chairman further alleged that the intention of CBN was to allegedly prevent the presidential election from holding on the scheduled date and scuttle APC winning chances.
“You could see that the intention of the bank is not to eliminate abuses but to stop the elections from taking place.
If you have riots like you had in Ibadan and Benin – I don’t know anywhere else – and they were taking place simultaneously, and you are now dealing with the issue of protecting lives and properties, will elections become a priority?, he added.
