PDP presidential flag bearer Atiku Abubakar has condemned the poor introduction of the new naira banknotes and told President Muhammadu Buhari’s regime not to make Nigerians scapegoats “in the ongoing battle of titans over the redesign of the naira.’’

Mr Abubakar made the appeal in a statement by his media aide in Abuja on Tuesday.

He said Mr Buhari’s regime had a duty to swiftly see to it that banks did not become stumbling blocks on “the well-thought out policy of naira redesign.”

The statement said, “It is commendable that the federal government has rather preferred to work behind the scenes, based on the intelligence it is believed to have received, regarding suspicions that some presidential candidates may have stashed billions of naira as war-chest for vote-buying.’’

The former vice-president lamented widespread anxiety arising from poor execution of the naira redesign policy by banks.

“Businesses and cash-dependent smallholder enterprises are all currently in serious distress. This should be addressed urgently to save the economy from collapse,” he stressed.

Mr Abubakar said he had on January 28 made a crucial intervention on the redesign of the naira, calling on the regime and the CBN to consider adjusting the deadline, to address the challenges faced by the public.

He restated that the policy was being mismanaged. According to him, millions of Nigerians are driven into desperation and despondency because of the policy’s poor implementation.

“In recent weeks, social tension has been growing across Nigeria on account of the poor management of the redesign of the naira policy,’’ the presidential hopeful added.

(NAN)