Naira scarcity forced Kidnappers and bandits to go on holiday – Ngige

Chris Ngige, the minister of labor and employment, has revealed that the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) naira redesign program offers advantages despite its drawbacks.

The Minister asserted that the aforementioned strategy provided Nigerians with legitimate advantages during his participation on Channels Television’s Politics Today show on Wednesday.

Ngige did admit, though, that the strategy was painful for Nigerians because of how poorly it was implemented.

His words: “The policy is not smooth in its implementation. I admitted that. But whether it is a good policy? Yes, it is a good policy.

“It wasn’t smooth; it came with some pain but overall, did we get some sound benefits from it? Yes, we did: people didn’t buy votes on the line (queue) during the elections.

“I used to go for elections and I know what I see. There was no cash exchange for votes. It wasn’t easy anymore. Kidnappers are on break, they are on strike so to say or recess. Bandits, they have also gone on holidays.”

In the meantime, the minister told Nigerians that the suffering caused by naira scarcity will lessen in the days to come when discussing the Nigeria Labour Congress’ (NLC) cancelled strike. He said that the central bank had released currency into the community.