The former Special Assistant to the immediate past president, Muhammadu Buhari, on media, Mr Femi Adesina, affirmed on Wednesday that the new naira redesign policy carried out by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) during the administration of his principal reduced the spate of kidnappings and other nefarious activities in the country.
Adesina, who made the assertion while answering questions from journalists in Osogbo during a media chat organized by the Association of Osun Veteran Journalists, argued that the policy also put a stop to electoral fraud in the last general elections.
According to him, the last election was the cleanest in the country, and the money-redesign policy that heralded money scarcity forced kidnappers out of business.
For instance, he said, as a result of money scarcity, “an APC chairman and Secretary in Kano state were kidnapped, and when the kidnappers saw that nobody was calling them for ransom, they left them.”
“Have you seen where a sitting governor lost an election? It’s because of the cash policy. Do you know that about nine former governors lost the election to the Senate? It is because of the policy. We had the cleanest election in Nigeria.”
Also, “my principal fought insecurity (Boko Haram) to a standstill and disclosed that there was a time 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 a rifle.”
“My principal did his best to tackle insecurity in the country and believed that governance is continuous. He is a man who is systematic and orderly in doing things, saying many people are already missing his principal.
The former spokesperson, while speaking on his own challenges while in office, said the media deliberately misquoted his statements.
Adesina posited that some media outfits deliberately set him against members of the public just because he was serving in the government.
“My biggest challenge during the eight years that I served with former President Muhammadu Buhari was the fact that a section of the media deliberately quoted me out of context.”
“I eventually grew out of it and got used to the antics. Even during a television interview, it was turned upside down in the papers deliberately to make me an enemy of the public, but I outgrew it and it did not affect my duty throughout my tenure,” he concluded.
YOU SHOULD NOT MISS THESE HEADLINES FROM TheWitness
God said you must not marry more wives, Gbile Akanni warns new Soun of Ogbomosho
Founder of Peace House, Bro Gbile Akanni has sent a stern warning to the newly installed Soun of…
How Nigeria can work again, Adebanjo, others speak
Some of the critical issues that engaged the leaders, one of whom was among…
We’ve not lifted visa ban on Nigeria — UAE
The United Arab Emirates has contradicted claims by the Nigerian government that it is to lift a year-long visa ban on…
Five ways to cope with September floods
September is the month for heavy rainfall. Already, there are alerts from government agencies on likely flooding between…
#BBNaijaAllStars: Kim Oprah predicts top 3 finalists
Evicted Big Brother Naija house guest, Kim Oprah has predicted the finalists for the ongoing ‘All Stars’ edition of…
LALIGA unveils vision for Africa, introduces new managing director
LALIGA, the world-renowned Spanish football league, took a significant stride towards its commitment to Africa by…
