Naira redesign was authorized by President Buhari, CBN informs the finance minister.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has responded to the assertion made by Zainab Ahmad, the Minister of Finance, Budget, and National Planning, that her ministry was not told of the redesign of the N200, N500, and N1,000 denominations of the nation’s currency carried out by the CBN.
Remember how CBN Governor Godwin Emefiele said on Tuesday, October 25, that the central bank had received President Muhammadu Buhari’s clearance to redesign certain naira notes?
However, on Friday, October 28, Ms. Zainab said that the CBN neglected to engage her ministry over the suggested redesign of the denominations as she was defending her ministry’s 2023 budget before the Senate Committee on Finance in Abuja.
“No one consulted us. We had heard an announcement, and there are also repercussions.
We are also considering the results that will follow. There will be some advantages, but there will also be some difficulties. I’m not sure whether the monetary authorities have carefully considered what the effects are and how they may be lessened.
She had advised the senate committee, “I still urge that you have that conversation with the monetary authorities.
Osita Nwanisobi, the CBN spokeswoman, emphasized that the central bank followed due procedure in its policy decisions in response to Ahmad’s remark.
He said that the CBN’s management had properly requested and received President Muhammadu Buhari’s written clearance to redesign, create, distribute, and circulate new series of N200, N500, and N1,000 banknotes in accordance with the CBN Act 2007’s Sections 2(b), 18(a), and 19(a)(b).
“The management of the CBN 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 said. “This was in accordance with provisions of section 2(b), section 18(a), and section 19(a)(b) of the CBN Act 2007.”
The integrity of the currency, the CBN, and the nation have all been jeopardized, according to Nwanisobi, because of the country’s currency management’s rising problems. The integrity of the local legal currency, the effectiveness of its supply, and its effectiveness in the execution of monetary policy were all protected by every top-notch central bank.
Regarding the timeframe of the redesign project, Nwanisobi said that the CBN had delayed 20 years too long.
Every five to eight years, according to the accepted procedure across the world, central banks develop, create, and distribute new local legal money, he added.
The CBN spokesperson expressed confidence that the endeavor would, among other things, strengthen Nigeria’s efforts to become a more industrialized nation while assuring Nigerians that the currency redesign process was only a central banking operation and not aimed at any group.
