Primate Elijah Ayodele, the head of the INRI Evangelical Spiritual Church, chastised CBN Governor Godwin Emefiele on Thursday over the deadline for the old naira notes, which was set for January 31.

The poor masses are the ones who will be affected by the redesign of the naira and the ensuing deadline, according to Primate Ayodele, who also claimed that Emefiele's policy would destroy Nigeria's economy.

Ayodele claimed in a statement released by his media assistant Oluwatosin Osho that the next administration would still be responsible for the destroyed economy, which would result in continued hardship caused by the redesign of the naira.

He said, “Emefiele has destroyed the economy of the country, and neither the poor nor the rich will enjoy this government till it ends."

“I said before that the naira redesign will not amount to anything tangible. The naira redesign policy is affecting the poor masses; they don’t know it yet, and it is the destroyed economy that will be transferred to the new government.

“Nigeria has just started suffering; this hardship will go a long way. "The money will cause hardship because the masses will suffer more in this money change process.”

He stressed that the naira redesign was the wrong advice at the wrong time because it would not address corruption, as politicians will always find their way.

In December 2022, Emefiele announced the redesigning of the N200, N500, and N1000 denominations.

The CBN governor said the old naira notes would cease to be legal tender in Nigeria on January 31, 2023.