Kogi Senator, Smart Adeyemi lends voice to criticisms against the Naira redesign policy of the CBN amid citizens’ protest against scarcity of naira notes.
Lawmaker to Buhari: “You have done your best, apart from the insecurity that has beclouded your achievement.”
“I am in support of the need to change the currency, but I am not in support of the way and manner the whole process is being done. Many died because they had no cash to buy drugs, and some died because of high blood pressure. The big men have cash in their houses.”
– Senator Smart Adeyemi
The lawmaker representing Kogi West Senatorial District at the National Assembly, Senator Smart Adeyemi, has berated the Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, over the hardship caused by the redesign of some denominations of the naira, describing it as a heartless policy.
Speaking at a press conference on Saturday in Abuja, the lawmaker accused the CBN governor of playing the script of some persons in Aso Rock, while alluding to allegations that the currency redesign policy is aimed at truncating the electoral chances of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Candidate, Bola Tinubu, at the 2023 polls.
Senator Adeyemi, who re-echoed Tinubu’s position that the naira redesign would not affect his victory at the election, added that “Nigerians were now dying for lack of cash to meet their daily needs.”
The lawmaker further claimed that Nigerians (especially the poor) are now cursing Godwin Emefiele over their current plight occasioned by the Naira swap policy, as he called on President Muhammadu Buhari to reconsider the seven-day grace he had asked for in order to take immediate action aimed at saving the situation.
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“I am in support of the need to change the currency, but I am not in support of the way and manner the whole process is being done. Many died because they had no cash to buy drugs, and some died because of high blood pressure. The big men have cash in their houses. President Buhari’s seven-day is too long to effect a change.
The pain is much. Every day is like a year for people to bear. I was elected, I was not appointed. People are asking us, how will they pay money to get money? Artisans are dying on a daily basis,” Adeyemi lamented.
Adeyemi stressed that President Buhari needs to listen to the Kaduna State governor, Nasir El-Rufai, who has in the last few days, been calling for a review of the time frame for the Naira swap.
READ ALSO: Naira Redesign: Senators unanimously vote for deadline extension by 6 months
“The president should listen to us and not allow democracy to derail. It’s giving room for insinuations that they are doing this against a political party. What is the sense in giving out old notes and new notes not being given to you? The majority of Nigerians are still poor. Do you want people to keep dying?
How do people survive on a daily basis? I am not in support of those who stole money. Go after them. I am speaking for the poor, the artisans. We have reason to believe that they are working against APC and Tinubu. People are frustrated. Mr President, thank you for your concern, but no woman in the labour room will survive another seven days of labour. You have done your best, apart from the insecurity that has beclouded your achievement.
Those that surround you are hypocrites. The poor are shouting. This is the worst policy anyone can think of. Emefiele, Nigerians are cursing you. I know what people are going through,” the Kogi West Senator lamented
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Ojochenemi Onje-James
Ojochenemi Onje-James is a research writer and journalist with years of proven footprints in areas of crime and politics. She has a M.Sc in International Relations and Strategic Studies as well as a B.Sc in Mass Communication.
