Because Of Naira Redesign, Kidnappers Now On “Holiday”, Says Ngige

Minister of labour and employment, Chris Ngige has expressed support for the naira redesign policy,y saying kidnappers and bandits are on “holiday” owing to the scarcity of naira notes in the country.

In a television interview on Wednesday, Ngige said although the implementation of the naira redesign policy was not “smooth”, there are some benefits.

The labour minister said the policy curbed vote buying during the general election.

He added that Nigerians no longer have the cash to raise ransom for kidnappers and bandits owing to the policy.

“The policy is not smooth in its implementation. I admitted that. But whether it is a good policy? Yes, it is a good policy,” the minister said.

“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 during the elections.

“I usually 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 have also gone on holidays

“If you take people from some homes, they will tell you they can’t even gather one million to give you, how much more asking them to bring N20 million for ransom”, he said.