Oshiomhole Just Revealed the Real Reason Obi Defeated Tinubu in Lagos

Senator Adams Oshiomhole

Oshiomhole Just Revealed the Real Reason Obi Defeated Tinubu in Lagos

Senator says cash scarcity and public anger, not political strength, produced Labour Party’s 2023 upset in Nigeria’s commercial capital

Senator Adams Oshiomhole, representing Edo North Senatorial District, has claimed that Peter Obi’s victory over President Bola Tinubu in Lagos during the 2023 presidential election was largely driven by public anger over the naira redesign policy introduced under former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor Godwin Emefiele. Speaking on Monday during an interview on TVC News’ Beyond the Headline programme, Oshiomhole argued that the cash scarcity triggered by the policy alienated voters from the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and created the conditions that worked in Obi’s favour. The former Edo State governor and ex-APC national chairman maintained that Obi’s performance was not a reflection of personal political strength but rather a reaction to economic difficulties Nigerians faced under the final months of former President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration. He insisted that the former Anambra State governor emerged from an “unusual situation” rather than a genuine political realignment.

“I have said this, but many people may not agree. Obi was produced by an unusual situation,” Oshiomhole said. “When a ruling party decided to destroy itself as to make anybody running election on its platform unelectable. It is that confusion that brought those votes to Peter Obi”. Oshiomhole traced the discontent to the naira redesign policy implemented during the final months of Buhari’s administration, saying it “virtually confiscated people’s money” and turned voters against the APC in Tinubu’s home state. “Former President Muhammadu Buhari suddenly changed the colour of the currency and virtually confiscated people’s money,” he said.

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According to the senator, the severe scarcity of cash forced many residents to spend long hours at automated teller machines (ATMs) and later depend on Point-of-Sale (POS) operators to access their own money, fueling resentment against the government. “People had money in the bank, but they can’t access it; they go to ATM machine, they queue all night to get ₦10,000, and after a week, even the ATM were dried of cash,” Oshiomhole recalled. He added that many Nigerians also had to pay exorbitant charges to POS operators to obtain cash during the period, compounding their frustration. “People started going to the Point-of-Sale, POS. And I remember one statement somebody made, which captured the situation, that why will you queue all night to withdraw ₦5,000? Then you go and queue for two nights to get 10 litres of PMS, and then those people expect that on election day, you will queue to vote for them?” he said.

He maintained that the resulting dissatisfaction translated into votes against the APC, enabling the Labour Party candidate to emerge victorious in Lagos. “It is this anger that, in my view, deliberately created by the president before Tinubu that made people vote against the APC in Lagos, making Peter Obi to defeat President Tinubu,” Oshiomhole said. The senator also suggested that the events surrounding the naira redesign were linked to the political ambitions of former CBN Governor Godwin Emefiele. He alleged that the policy emerged after Emefiele was unable to pursue his reported presidential ambition, describing the move as an attempt to “choke and suffocate the system” that created confusion within the political system. Oshiomhole had earlier in February 2023 claimed that the CBN deceived Buhari into approving the naira redesign policy, alleging that the bank sold an anti-corruption motive to the President, particularly the need to curb vote-buying during the elections, which made him approve the policy.

The former Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) President also recalled conversations with constituents who blamed the government for the hardship caused by the cash shortage. “A woman in my village told me, ‘You said I should keep my money in the bank, but when I went to collect it, they said there was no money. At the POS, they deducted ₦2,000 from ₦5,000. How do I survive?'” he recounted. The senator maintained that the policies responsible for the hardship were not part of the APC’s political agenda. “I told her what Buhari was doing at that time was not APC policy. It was that anger that influenced the outcome of the election,” he said.

The naira redesign policy remains one of the most debated decisions of the Buhari administration. Introduced by the Central Bank of Nigeria in late 2022, the policy aimed to replace high-denomination naira notes and encourage the return of cash held outside the banking system. However, its implementation led to severe cash shortages across the country, disrupting business activities and making it difficult for many Nigerians to access money for daily transactions. The cash crisis was rooted in the CBN’s October 2022 decision to redesign the ₦200, ₦500 and ₦1,000 notes, with the rollout triggering severe scarcity in the weeks before the February 25, 2023 poll, sparking protests across several states as citizens struggled to access legal tender. Oshiomhole’s latest remarks add to the continuing debate over the political consequences of the naira redesign policy and its impact on the outcome of the 2023 general elections, particularly in Lagos, where Peter Obi recorded one of his most significant electoral victories.