TheCable

Femi Adesina, the presidential spokesperson, says former president Olusegun Obasanjo commended President Muhammadu Buhari over the naira redesign policy.

Adesina said in a statement that the former president praised Buhari at the council of state meeting held in the state house, Abuja, on February 10.

“Change was necessary from time to time, and resistance to change is normal,” he quoted Obasanjo as saying.

The former president said the policy would bring a “little bit of sanity into our elections and have a salutary effect on kidnapping and ransom taking, and corruption will be substantially reduced”.

“The naira change policy is good, but implementation is the issue. If there’s inadequate supply, let’s have more. If there are unscrupulous people sabotaging the policy, let’s deal with them,” Obasanjo said.

“I’ve experienced currency change at least more than half a dozen times. When we increased feeding In universities from 50 kobos to N1, it led to the ‘Ali Must Go’ riots. Resistance to change is normal, and people will always support, oppose, or be neutral.”

On his part, Godwin Emefiele, the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), said the policy is aimed at strengthening the economic prospect of the country.

“The policy is not targeted at anyone or group of persons, but rather derived from the analysis to strengthen our macroeconomic fundamentals and better our socio-economic conditions,” he said.

“To make monetary policy more efficacious, increase financial inclusion, support security agencies to combat banditry and ransom-taking, and curb corruption.”