Obi, Adebayo Differ Over Currency Redesign

Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate Peter Obi has thrown his weight behind the currency redesign policy but asked banks to expedite action to reduce the pains small depositors and the unbanked are going through.

But his Social Democratic Party (SDP) counterpart, Adewole Adebayo, has differed with Obi saying he was wrong to back the policy, describing it as an extremely callous exercise which has caused unnecessary suffering and deaths already.

Obi, had on his twitter handle said “The currency redesign is not peculiar to Nigeria. It is an exercise that comes with some inconveniences and pains but it has significant long term economic and social benefits.”

Obi said that “Even though there are improvements that can be made, I urge Nigerians to bear with the CBN and Federal Government with the hope that the general populace and Nigeria will harvest the gains that will come with the reforms.”

He implored the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN and the banks “to expedite efforts to make the new currency available to small depositors and the unbanked in order to reduce the pains of my fellow Nigerians, especially the underprivileged and those living far away from banks in the rural areas.”

But the SDP presidential candidate who replied to Obi on his handle said, “You are wrong to back this extremely callous exercise which has caused unnecessary suffering and deaths already.