Akinwande Soji-Ojo
The presidential candidate of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), Rabiu Kwankwaso, has said his colleagues are not affected by the new Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) policy on naira redesign because “they are owners of banks.”
Speaking on ‘Sunrise Daily,’ a Channels Television programme, on Thursday, Kwankwaso said politicians, especially presidential candidates in the general elections, are unaffected by the policy.
The former governor of Kano State said the elites have an influence on banks in their states, and would not feel any impact of the scarcity of currency.
“We in the NNPP are not comfortable with the three months and even the 10 days they are talking about. Many people who are in Abuja who are in the comfort of their offices or homes wouldn’t understand what is happening outside there.
“What the government is saying has to do with people who would want to take too much money, like leaders and politicians. They don’t know that many of our colleagues, those who are contesting, especially the presidential candidates, and by extension all those in their parties are owners of the banks.
“And not only that, people close to them have banks everywhere. So, they will lose nothing. PDP has governors, and APC has governors. Governors by now would have collected so much money from the banks in their states.
“If their friends have got banks, I’m sure one or two of them may have banks or own large shares in some of these banks.
“Some people in politics may for some strategic reasons be complaining but those complaining I believe is just a gimmick, I don’t believe that they mean it. We believe they don’t have issues,” he said.
