Naira Redesign Was Approved By President Buhari, CBN Says.

The Central Bank Of Nigeria has reacted to the claim by the Minister of Finance, Budget, and National Planning, that the Ministry was not consulted in the Bank's policy to redesign the Naira. 

Finance Minister, Zainab Ahmed while answering questions on the probable impact of the policy on the Naira posed by Senator Bamidele, during the Ministry's 2023 budget defense session claimed that she was unaware of the policy and only learned about it via the media.

"Distinguished senators, we were not consulted at the Ministry of Finance by CBN on the planned Naira redesigning and cannot comment on it as regards merits or otherwise, '' Ahmed said.

However, CBN spokesman Mr. Osita Nwanisobi on Saturday reiterated that the exercise is being done with the approval of President Mohammadu Buhari and in line with the law and proper procedure.

In a note sent to the media early Saturday morning, Mr. Nwanisobi expressed surprise at the comment by the Finance minister, insisting that the CBN is still a very meticulous organization that adheres to due process when making policy decisions.

The CBN spokesman said, “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 added that the integrity of the currency, the CBN, and the country was all at risk due to several escalating challenges facing currency management in the country. 

Nwanisobi noted that every top-notch Central Bank was dedicated to preserving the credibility of its country's legal tender, the effectiveness of its supply, and its ability to carry out monetary policy.

CBN Governor.

He reiterated that certain people were hoarding sizable amounts of banknotes outside the vaults of commercial banks, a trend that any lover of the country should not support.

Nwanisobi urged Nigerians to support the currency redesign project, saying it was in their general interest. 

Regarding the timing of the project, Mr. Nwanisobi said that the CBN had even waited too long given that it had to wait 20 years to carry out a redesign, although the global standard was for Central Banks to create, produce, and circulate new local legal tender every five to eight years.

The CBN spokesman reassured Nigerians that the currency redesign exercise was solely a Central Banking exercise and not targeted at any group noting that the effort will, among other goals, deepen Nigeria's push to entrench a cashless economy amid increased minting of the eNaira.

He maintained that redesigning the Naira will also help to check the incidence of terrorism and kidnapping which are fueled, partly by easy access to huge volumes of money outside the banking system used for ransom payments.

The Naira redesign project, “is for the greater good of the economy, ” Nwanisobi said.

The CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele had on Wednesday, announced that the country's currency was being redesigned to allow the bank to have greater control over the currency in circulation, adding that the new currency is to begin circulation on December 15, 2022, and shall remain legal tender and circulate together with the existing currencies until January 31, 2023, when the existing currencies shall cease to be legal tender.

The banknotes affected are N200, N500, and N1,000 Naira.

Economy