Peter Obi defeated Tinubu in Lagos because of naira redesign policy – Oshiomhole

Senator Adams Oshiomhole has said Peter Obi’s victory over President Bola Tinubu in Lagos during the 2023 presidential election was largely driven by public anger over the naira redesign policy introduced under former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor Godwin Emefiele.

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Speaking during an interview on TVC News’ Beyond the Headline programme, the senator representing Edo North said the cash scarcity created by the policy alienated voters from the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and created the conditions that worked in Obi’s favour.

The former Edo governor linked the policy to Emefiele’s failed presidential ambition, alleging that it plunged the APC into a crisis at a critical period before the election. He said: “I have said this, but many people may not agree. Obi was produced by an unusual situation. When a ruling party decided to destroy itself as to make anybody running election on its platform unelectable. It is that confusion that brought those votes to Peter Obi.”

Oshiomhole said Nigerians became frustrated after the Buhari administration introduced the redesigned naira notes, leaving many unable to access money in their bank accounts despite having funds. He said:

“I can speak to it. Former President Muhammadu Buhari suddenly changed the colour of the currency and virtually confiscated people’s money. People had money in the bank, but they can’t access it; they go to ATM machine, they queue all night to get ₦10,000, and after a week, even the ATM were dried of cash. People started going to the Point-of-Sale (POS).”

According to him, the hardship created by the cash crunch compounded the difficulties Nigerians were already facing, including fuel scarcity, and ultimately translated into protest votes against the APC in Lagos.

“And I remember one statement somebody made, which captured the situation, that why will you queue all night to withdraw ₦5,000? Then you go and queue for two nights to get 10 litres of PMS, and then those people expect that on election day, you will queue to vote for them? It is this anger that, in my view, deliberately created by the president before Tinubu that made people vote against the APC in Lagos, making Peter Obi defeat President Tinubu.”

Oshiomhole also defended the powers of the National Assembly, saying the 1999 Constitution empowers the Senate, through its committees, to summon individuals and institutions, investigate matters of public interest and hold public officials accountable in the discharge of their duties.