Senator Shehu Sani, a civil rights activist, has described Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor Godwin Emefiele’s cashless policy, as disastrous and poisonous.
Sani is reacting to the difficulties that bank clients are having in withdrawing money, which is causing long lines around the country.
In a statement made available to newsmen on Friday, Sani questioned why public policy should be a disaster for people rather than a boon.
He said: “The redesigning of the National currency and the cash withdrawal policy introduced by Godwin Emefiele is an economic disaster and a poisonous idea aimed at unleashing hardships on the masses of Nigerians.
“If the Buhari administration really wants to target the few corrupt, it doesn’t have to wait this long and it doesn’t have to impoverish and punish the poor. Emefiele set a forest on fire in the name of catching a few rats.”
The ex-lawmaker posited that the apex bank has become a political institution, stating that as a developing nation, economic policies such as this would have taken the status of Nigerians into cognisance.
“The CBN has become a political institution and a home for serpentine and delirious economic ideas.
“The CBN under Emefiele has become a shrine for misery and a breeding ground for penury. It has become a republic within a republic,” he said.
He queried reasons Buhari allowed the policy at the twilight of his administration.
“Why didn’t the Buhari administration introduce the change of currency in 2019 and waited until 2023 if the CBN policy is about curbing vote buying?
“Nigeria has been turned into a vast refugee camp where people queue for cash ration,” he said.