Atiku makes U-turn, says CBN naira policy hurting ordinary Nigerians

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, seems to have shifted his stance on the naira redesign policy introduced by the Central Bank of Nigeria as he said Nigerians are hurting.

He, therefore, assured Nigerians that he would ensure no one loses his legitimately earned money as a result of the CBN policy if elected president in the forthcoming election.

Atiku made this known in a message posted on his social media pages on Sunday, February 19, 2023, where he also appealed to the CBN to devolve power to commercial banks so that Nigerians can deposit their old N500 and N1,000 notes without much hassle.

His message reads: “The CBN currency policy is hurting ordinary citizens and those who legitimately earned their money. The apex bank should, as a matter of urgency, allow commercial banks to join the CBN in the collection of the deposits of old N500 and N1000 notes.

“The new currency should be immediately made available in sufficient quantities to alleviate the suffering of the masses.

“I assure you that when we come to power by the mandate of your votes, the PDP administration will not allow any Nigerian who legitimately earned their money to lose a single kobo of it.

“You can take that promise to the bank because our aim is to create prosperity and not to impoverish our people.”

Atiku's latest position represents a slight shift in his stance at the onset of the implementation of the policy when he criticised the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, and governors of the party for demanding an adjustment to the currency swap deadline.

Nigerians are currently experiencing a debilitating cash crunch occasioned by the CBN's decision to end the validity of the old N200, N500, and N1,000 notes without adequate supply of the redesigned notes.

The development has crippled activities in some sections of the economy as citizens find it difficult to access the cash needed to carry out their daily transactions.