TheCable

President Muhammadu Buhari has apologised to Nigerians over the naira redesign policy, saying that it was not introduced to cause hardship.

In October 2022, Godwin Emefiele, governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), announced the plan to redesign the N200, N500, and N1,000 notes.

The apex bank fixed February 10 as the deadline for the use of old naira notes — and that led to a scarcity of the currency.

In a video clip posted on Twitter by Uba Sani, gubernatorial candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kaduna, on Thursday, Buhari said the policy was meant to boost the economy.

2/2 pic.twitter.com/DekfVZoWXu

— Senator Uba Sani (@ubasanius) March 1, 2023

“I apologise to you for the hardship caused by the change of the naira. It was done to boost the economy of the country, not to cause hardship to anybody,” the president said.

Buhari begged Kaduna residents to vote for Sani, senator representing Kaduna central, as the governor of the state.

“First of all, I want to once again thank you for the confidence you have in me by electing me president on the platform of our party, the APC,” Buhari said.

“I want to use this opportunity to inform you that Uba Sani is our candidate for the governorship election in Kaduna state. I am begging you to vote for him and all APC candidates for the house of assembly to help him work.

“Uba is a leading member of this journey. We worked together in the senate and he demonstrated capacity and competence. He will perform better than expected.

“Kaduna is home to me. Therefore, I urge you to vote for Uba Sani and all our APC candidates for the state assembly.”