What Nigerians Did Not Know About Emefiele’s Naira Redesign—Femi Adesina

What Nigerians Did Not Know

OpenLife Nigeria reports that for the first time, Aso Rock presidential insider, Mr. Femi Adesina , has opened up on the controversial narai redesign embarked upon by the government of former President Muhammadu Buhari.

Mr. Femi Adesina, who served as the Special Adviser on Media to Buhari, has acknowledged that the naira redesign policy brought hardship to Nigerians.

He noted that during the period, “I had N20,000 which I stretched for almost two weeks. There was a day I had a full house and we wanted to cook breakfast but midway, the gas finished.

“When they came to tell me that the gas had finished, I didn’t know what to do because to fill that big cylinder, I needed N40,000 but I didn’t have it.

I was special adviser to the president but I didn’t have the cash. One boy living with me had to bail me out to fill that gas which I refunded, ,” Adesina disclosed.

Adesina who spoke in Osogbo on Wednesday at a programme tagged Media Dialogue with Femi Adesina organised by the Association of Veteran Journalists in Osun State, added that the policy was not intended to unleash hardship on Nigerians.

Enumerating the merits of the policy, the ex-presidential spokesperson said the Naira redesign policy enabled the country to have reduction in crime.

He added that it put kidnapping in check. Specifically, Adeshina said the policy helped to curb manipulation in the 2023 polls.

“So, it was everybody that bore that brunt. You will recall that even during that time, there was no kidnapping. I remember some people went to kidnap an APC chairman or is it secretary in Kano.

“After holding him for three days and nobody was calling to ask how much they will collect because there was no cash, they just slapped him three times and told him to go.

“Even kidnappers were out of business because there was no naira and do you know that we have a cleaner election because of that policy?

“Nine serving governors couldn’t go to the Senate. They contested but lost. Have you ever seen a governor who will contest an election and will not win?

“But because there was no money to spread around, they couldn’t win. The policy was not bad in its entirety. There were issues with it but it was not bad in its entirety,” Adesina concluded.