Former Edo State Governor and current Senator representing Edo North, Adams Oshiomhole, has delivered a scathing critique of the economic policies implemented during the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari. Oshiomhole focused particularly on the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) controversial use of the Ways and Means provision, which he claims has severely damaged the value of the naira and plunged the country into its current economic struggles.
Speaking passionately during the Progressive Governors Forum’s Meeting and Interactive Session, which took place in Benin City on Saturday, June 28, 2025, Oshiomhole expressed his deep concerns about what he described as reckless monetary practices. He alleged that under Buhari’s leadership, the CBN engaged in excessive money printing, reminiscent of economic disasters in countries such as Zimbabwe and Uganda during the era of Idi Amin.
“We are coming from a country that was almost like Zimbabwe or Idi Amin’s Uganda, where he asked the Central Bank governor, ‘go and print more money for us to share to the people’. And the governor said, ‘If we print more money, Uganda currency will be like a sheet of paper.’ This is exactly what the immediate past CBN governor was doing. In the Senate, we have documented records showing that they printed over ₦31 trillion, under what they called Ways and Means,” Oshiomhole revealed to the gathering.
He explained that Ways and Means provisions are typically designed to allow the federal government to access short-term borrowing from the central bank to address immediate budget deficits. However, according to Oshiomhole, this mechanism was heavily abused, with the previous administration printing an unprecedented ₦31 trillion. This figure was also confirmed in a 2024 Senate ad-hoc committee report, highlighting the scale and potential consequences of the policy.
“When the government wants to deceive the citizens, they use technical jargon that sounds sophisticated. They called it ‘Ways and Means’, but in plain language, it simply meant printing new banknotes that are not backed by any actual earnings or resources. It was purely to create an illusion of money supply and satisfy short-term demands,” he stressed, underscoring the deceptive nature of the approach.
Oshiomhole further explained that the influx of such unearned currency into the economy resulted in the severe depreciation of the naira, alongside skyrocketing inflation rates, which have left ordinary Nigerians struggling with higher costs of living and weakened purchasing power.
“To truly grasp the root cause of today’s high cost of living and the dire exchange rate situation, one must look back and identify the source: the excessive and irresponsible printing of banknotes under the guise of ‘Ways and Means’. This approach was at the heart of the economic damage we are witnessing now, and thankfully, this current administration has decided to put an end to it,” he concluded emphatically.