Dr. Oby Ezekwesili, a former Minister of Education, has strongly criticized the naira swap policy of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), accusing the government of using the apex bank to target political “criminals it knows” rather than focusing on fiscal and monetary policy.
Speaking on Channels Television’s The 2023 Verdict, she argued that the CBN should be thoughtful about what they are solving for and expressed reservations about the policy’s implementation by the CBN.
While she agreed that going cashless made sense, she criticized the banks’ readiness for a full transition to a cashless society, pointing out a complete system breakdown due to the politicians’ interests being put above that of citizens.
She also accused the current CBN of failing to interrogate policies based on evidence and data, instead of making decisions based on impulse.
Additionally, she expressed support for the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, over the other candidates of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, and the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Tinubu, based on her framework of leadership, which is based on character, competence, and capacity.