Emefiele’s Naira Redesign Policy Responsible For Hunger- Presidential Aide

A Senior Special Adviser on Digital and New Media to the president, O’tega Ogra, has blamed the hunger and economic hardship on the naira redesign policy introduced by the former Central Bank of Nigeria Governor, Godwin Emefiele.

The presidential aide made the claim on Arise TV as Nigeria’s #Endbadgovernance protest which began August 1, ended August 10.

The protest was ignited by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s economic reforms, which resulted in hunger, job losses, and poverty.

The protesters sought the reinstatement of fuel subsidy which led to the spike in the price of Premium Motor Spirit from around N180 per litre to over N700 per litre.

The government also floated the currency which led to about 100 per cent depreciation against the US dollar.

But Ogra said, “The most important thing is to realise what it takes to end hunger and guarantee food security in Nigeria. It is not a magic wand. The president has said on countless occasions that he does not want to look behind and lay blames.

“But let us situate things properly. At the beginning of last year, we had the naira redesign. That Niara redesign ensured that a lot of farmers did not go to farms to plant and all that.

“It simply meant we had limited food output at the end of last year.”

In October 2022, the former CBN boss, Emefiele introduced the naira redesign policy where N200, N500 and N1,000 old notes were replaced with new notes. The CBN also announced a plan to end the use of the old notes by January 31, 2023.

Former president Muhammadu Buhari approved the extension of the legal status of the old notes to February 10, 2023 but the policy resulted in the scarcity of naira notes.

However, contrary to the presidential aide’s claims, president Tinubu had admitted on several occasions that his economic reforms inflicted hardship on Nigerians.

Ogra said the president is importing equipment from Belarus, Brazil and the US for mechanized farming.

Tinubu’s aide said “We cannot use short-term solutions for long-term problems and you know the problem of food security has bedeviled this country for a very long time.

“Nigerians need to understand that this is a process. The president has also opened the borders for the importation of food items for six months in the first instance and from grains to other staples that Nigerians eat. We do hope that this will bear fruit.”