GOVERNOR Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State on Friday alleged that the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele introduced the naira redesign policy to help the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) win the 2023 general elections.
“Emefiele was appointed Central Bank Governor by the PDP originally. So, let’s not forget where he came from,” El-Rufai said at a media chat just after the Supreme Court ordered that old N200, N500, and N1,000 notes remain in circulation till December 31, 2023.
The apex court also nullified the Federal Government’s naira redesign policy, declaring it as an affront to the 1999 Constitution.
The court said the policy has led to some people engaging in trade by barter in this modern age in a bid to survive.
Sixteen states led by Kaduna, Kogi and Zamfara prayed the apex court to void and set aside the policy on the ground that it is inflicting hardships on innocent Nigerians.
News Point Nigeria report that, briefing the media after the judgement, El-Rufai, who witnessed the ruling alongside his brother All Progressives Congress (APC) governors like Yahaya Bello of Kogi State and Bello Matawalle of Zamfara State, said the CBN governor deceived President Muhammadu Buhari to actualise the policy.
“He (Emefiele) is the one that out this policy together to help the PDP win the 2023 general elections and deceived the President into thinking that it is possible to withdraw N2trillion from circulation and reprint everything in three months. No country in world history has done it,” the Kaduna governor stated.
El-Rufai, who is a member of the President’s party and the ruling APC, said he and his brother APC governors tried to resolve the matter behind closed doors with the President but no success was achieved hence they approached the apex court of the land.
He also said high-ranking members of the Federal Government who are proponents of the policy supported it because they failed to get the APC presidential and governorship tickets.
El-Rufai said the naira redesign policy was “their revenge plan” for not getting the party’s tickets. While some persons had purchased the APC N100m presidential form for Emefiele, Malami had also picked the N50m governorship form of the party for Kebbi State but both men withdrew from the APC primaries in May.
