Summary: Senator Adams Oshiomhole reveals the shocking reason Peter Obi defeated Bola Tinubu in Lagos during the 2023 presidential election — and it all comes down to one controversial policy.
If you were following the 2023 presidential election results with bated breath, you will remember the collective gasp that swept across Nigeria when Peter Obi of the Labour Party snatched Lagos State from under President Bola Tinubu’s nose. Lagos — Tinubu’s own political stronghold. His ìlú. His home turf. Yet, he lost it.
Now, Senator Adams Oshiomhole, the former APC National Chairman and two-term Governor of Edo State, has finally offered what he believes is the clearest explanation for that stunning upset — and it points directly at the naira redesign policy introduced by the Central Bank of Nigeria under former Governor Godwin Emefiele.
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The Policy That Turned Lagosians Against Their Own Son
Cast your mind back to early 2023. Nigerians were in full election mode, campaigns were blazing, and jingles were playing on every radio station from Kano to Calabar. But in the middle of all that political excitement, something else was quietly — and then loudly — making life miserable for ordinary Nigerians.
The CBN’s naira redesign policy had triggered a catastrophic cash scarcity. ATMs were dry. Bank queues stretched longer than the ones you see on Black Friday at Balogun Market. People could not access their own money. Traders lost business. Market women were stranded. The suffering was real, raw, and widespread.
And Lagosians, who are known for their hustle mentality and zero tolerance for anything that disrupts commerce, were furious.
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Oshiomhole’s Verdict: Anger at the Polls
According to Oshiomhole, that fury translated directly into protest votes on Election Day. Voters who would ordinarily have stood firmly behind Tinubu — a man who practically built modern Lagos politics — instead channelled their frustration through their PVCs and handed Peter Obi a historic win in the state.
In Oshiomhole’s view, it was not necessarily that Lagosians had suddenly fallen out of love with Tinubu or deeply embraced the Obi-dient movement. Rather, the naira redesign policy had created a level of economic pain so intense that voters used the ballot box to send a message.
It is the kind of political reality that Nigerian leaders often underestimate — that when you touch a man’s pocket, you touch his vote.
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A Lesson Bigger Than Lagos
This revelation raises important questions that go beyond party politics. It reminds us that in a country where the average Nigerian is already battling rising food prices, fuel costs, and unemployment, any policy that directly squeezes the common man’s access to cash will have consequences — including political ones.
The naira redesign saga remains one of the most controversial economic decisions in recent Nigerian history. While its original intent — to mop up excess cash and fight corruption — was sold as noble, its execution was widely condemned as poorly timed and badly managed, causing untold hardship for millions of Nigerians right on the eve of a general election.
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The Takeaway
Whether you are APC, LP, PDP, or you simply dey observe from the fence, Oshiomhole’s comments serve as a powerful reminder: governance has consequences, and citizens will find a way to respond.
Peter Obi winning Lagos was unprecedented. But according to Oshiomhole, it was not magic — it was anger. And in Nigeria’s democracy, an angry voter with a PVC is perhaps the most powerful force in the land.
What do you think? Was the naira redesign policy truly the reason Tinubu lost Lagos, or were there other factors at play? Drop your thoughts in the comments below.
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