Edo State Governor Godwin Obaseki has described the proposed plan by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to redesign the naira as political.
He said the move was a ploy by the All Progressives Congress-led government to sway voters ahead of the 2023 general elections.
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According to him, the redesign of the nation’s currency shouldn’t be a priority as the majority of the citizens are suffering from hunger, poverty and economic hardship.
Obaseki stated this while inaugurating the Edo State Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Women Campaign Council in Benin, the state capital.
“They say we should all bring our naira and give it to them because they want to change it for us. Is that our priority now? Does changing of currency reduce the price of food in the market? They say they want to change our currency and dollars are going higher every day. We can’t even see dollars again.
“As an economist, I can tell you categorically that this policy by the CBN and the federal government has no basis in Nigeria’s economy. There is no reason to do this; the move is purely political as there is no urgency in changing our currency,” he said.
