‘Buhari approved naira redesign’ – CBN replies finance minister
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has responded to finance minister Zainab Ahmad who claimed on Friday that her ministry was not consulted by the apex bank concerning the naira redesign.
Zainab had also called on the senate to invite CBN governor Godwin Emefiele for questioning on the economic importance of the redesign.
The CBN had announced that it is redesigning the N200, 500, and N1000 notes.
But the CBN has insisted that it followed the law and due process in the ongoing Naira notes redesigning exercise, which it said was 12 years due.
In a note sent to the media in the early hours of Saturday morning, the bank’s spokesman, Mr Osita Nwanisobi, expressed surprise at the minister’s claim, stressing that the CBN remains a very thorough institution that follows due process in its policy actions.
According to him, “The Management of the CBN, in line with provisions of section 2(b), section 18(a), and section 19(a)(b) of the CBN Act 2007, had duly sought and obtained the approval of President Muhammadu Buhari in writing to redesign, produce, release and circulate new series of N200, N500, and N1,000 banknotes.”
He urged Nigerians to support the currency redesign project, saying that it was in the overall interest of Nigerians, and reiterating that some persons were hoarding significant sums of banknotes outside the vaults of commercial banks. This trend, he said, should not be encouraged by anyone who means well for the country.
Furthermore, he noted that currency management in the country had faced several escalating challenges which threatened the integrity of the currency, the CBN, and the country, adding that every top-rate Central Bank was committed to safeguarding the integrity of the local legal tender, the efficiency of its supply, as well as its efficacy in the conduct of monetary policy.
On the timing of the redesign project, Mr. Nwanisobi explained that the CBN had even tarried for too long considering that it had to wait 20 years to carry out a redesign, whereas the standard practice globally was for central banks to redesign, produce and circulate new local legal tender every five to eight years.
While assuring Nigerians that the currency redesign exercise was purely a central banking exercise and not targeted at any group, the CBN spokesman expressed optimism that the effort will, among other goals, deepen Nigeria’s push to entrench a cashless economy in the face of increased minting of the eNaira.
This, he said, is in addition to helping to curb the incidents of terrorism and kidnapping due to access of persons to the large volume of money outside the banking system used as a source of funds for ransom payments.
The Naira redesign project, he said “is for the greater good of the economy.”
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