As CBN set to redesign 200, 500, 1000 naira notes, “I am not aware of plan to redesign naira,” Ahmed tells Senate c’ ttee
The Minister of Finance Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed says she was never consulted over the Central Bank of Nigeria’s plans to Redesign the naira notes.
Her revelation comes forty-eight hours after the official announcement by the CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele which takes effect from the 15th of December this year.
The Minister disclosed this when she appeared before the Senate’s Committee on Finance at the National Assembly to Defend Budget Estimates for her Ministry.
She told lawmakers that she was unaware of such Plans by the CBN and got a wind of the information after the announcement was made by the Apex Bank.
However, she acknowledges that it may be the CBN’s strategy to control the Rising inflation but warns that it may come with its own challenges and Consequences.
The Minister also adds that the policy may be a well-conceived one, but the timing going by realities on the ground, is very wrong as the Naira may fall to as low as N1,000 to a US dollar before January 31, 2023.
Recall that the Central Bank of Nigeria recently announced it will start a mop-up of the country’s current naira notes, giving Nigerians about 47 days to exchange the old notes for the new ones in an effort to curb inflation and take control of the nation’s money supply.
By January, the CBN plans to redesign the 200, 500, and 1000 naira notes and retire the current ones.
According to CBN governor Godwin Emefiele, the current naira notes will cease to be legal tender on January 31, 2023, and the redesigned N200, N500, and N1000 notes are anticipated to go into circulation on December 15, 2022.
However, Emefiele pointed out that people who have cash on hand can start free bank account deposits on Thursday, October 27, 2022, 100 days before the new Naira notes are distributed, giving them time to exchange their currency notes for the new ones.
The CBN, which has been fighting inflation, stated that with more than N2.73 trillion out on the streets from the N3.23 trillion outside the CBN vaults, it intends to seize control of the money supply by collecting all cash from the economy, both within bank vaults and in the hands of citizens.
