The former Special Assistance to the immediate past President Muhammadu Buhari on Media, Mr Femi Adesina on Wednesday, explained how the idea of the new naira redesign policy carried out by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) prevented electoral fraud during the last general elections.
Adesina contended that the policy brought about the cleanest election in the country and also assisted in the reduction of kidnapping, saying the policy was not bad in its entirety.
Fielding questions from journalists in Osogbo, during a media chat organised by the Association of Osun veteran journalists, Osun State chapter, Adesina said Nigeria had the most cleaner election due to the money redesign policy.
He posited that the former Governor of CBN sold the idea of a new naira re-designation to the then president and defended it with every fact and the president reportedly gave him approval.
According to him ” Do you know that during the new naira redesign policy that resulted in money scarcity, kidnappers were out of business? An APC Chairman and Secretary in Kano state were kidnapped when the kidnappers saw that nobody was calling them for ransom they left them.
He further said: ” Have you seen where a sitting Governor loses an election? It’s because of the cash policy. Do you know that about 9 former governors lost election into the senate, it is because of the policy? We have the most cleaner election in Nigeria ” it is because of the policy ”
Adesina noted that “There was a day my cooking gas got finished I was cooking and had no money to buy because there was cash scarcity, I had to borrow from someone to finish my cooking. The cash scarcity affected everyone including those of us who were at the presidential Villa at that time “.
While saying former president Buhari fought insecurity (Boko Haram )to a stand still disclosed that there was a time when President Buhari gave an order to security agencies to shoot anyone with an unauthorised AK 47 rifle because only security personnel are constitutionally authorised to carry such rifle.
Justifying the hated criticism during the Buhari administration which he said was majorly coming from the opposition party PDP, Adesina said his principal did his best in tackling insecurity in the country saying Mr. President believed that governance is continual.
On the accusation that former president Buhari’s administration failed to obey many court orders, the former spokesman said it is not on any record that his principal disobeyed court orders saying that Mr. President obeyed supreme court orders and directives during the cash policy issue.
When asked to critically assess former president Buhari’s performance during his 8 years of governance, Adesina said “You cannot access a government in one area but its entirety. You don’t access a government by its head but by the entirety of the people.
He stressed that former President Muhammadu Buhari is a man who is systematic and orderly in doing things adding that many people are already missing his principal.