Nigeria’s apex bank, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), has clarified and asserted that it followed due process in respect of the naira redesign exercise.
Team@orientactualmags.com learned Spokesman for the CBN , Mr. Osita Nwanisobi, in a statement on Saturday noted that what the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed said on Friday while appearing before the Senate Committee on Finance was surprising.
‘Distinguished senators, we were not consulted at the Ministry of Finance by CBN on the planned naira redesigning and cannot comment on it as regard its merits or otherwise.
However as a Nigerian privileged to be at the top of Nigeria’s fiscal management, the policy, as rolled out at this time, portends serious consequences on value of naira to other foreign currencies.
I will, however, appeal to this committee to invite the CBN governor for required explanations as regard merits of the planned policy and the rightness or otherwise of its implementation now’ she had submitted.
The CBN however said it had remained a very thorough institution adding that the management team of the apex bank, 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.
Urging Nigerians to support the currency redesign project, he said the step taken was in the overall interest of Nigerians, restating that some persons were hoarding significant sums of banknotes outside the vaults of the commercial banks.
This trend, he said, should not be encouraged by anyone who means well for this country.
Furthermore, he noted that currency management in the country had faced several escalating challenges which had threatened the integrity of the currency, the CBN, and the country.
Nwanisobi added 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 exercise , 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 noted, was 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.
Nwanisobi therefore urged Nigerians, irrespective of their status, to support the Naira redesign project saying it was for the greater good of the economy- Team@orientactualmags.com
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