The Presidential Candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, has thrown his weight behind currency redesign but wants the banks to expedite action to reduce the pains and discomforts small depositors and the unbanked are going through.

According to Obi in a statement on Sunday, “the currency redesign is not peculiar to Nigeria. It is an exercise that comes with some inconveniences and pains but it has significant longterm  economic and social benefits.”

Obi said that “even though there are improvements that can be made, I urge Nigerians to bear with the CBN and Federal Government with the hope that the general populace and Nigeria will harvest the gains that will come with the reforms.”

He implored  the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the banks “to expedite efforts to make the new currency available to small depositors and the unbanked in order to reduce the pains of my fellow Nigerians, especially the underprivileged and those living far away from banks in the rural areas,“ he said.