President Buhari unveils re-designed new Naira notes

President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday unveiled the re-designed Naira notes by the Central Bank of Nigeria.

He performed this function at the Federal Executive chambers shortly before the FEC meeting as he presented to the public the new N1000, N500, and N200 notes.

The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele had earlier on Tuesday said the President will unveil the newly designed N1,000, N500, and N200 notes.

The unveiling today marks the first time in 19 years, Nigeria will be redesigning its currency notes though the move is not unusual in other parts of the World.

At a briefing after the ceremony before the Federal executive council meeting, the CBN governor debunked insinuations that the early unveiling of new notes is a means to target any Nigerian.

Mr Emefiele appealed to members of the public that there is no need to perpetuate any such information.

He maintained that there will be heavy restrictions on the volume of cash that people can withdraw over the counter, as it works with the EFCC to monitor the purpose of any heavy transactions.

The plan to redesign the Naira Notes by the Federal Government through the Central Bank of Nigeria when it was announced had come under heavy criticism as many asked whether it was the right thing to do at this point.

Security though has backed the move describing it as a very good attempt at stopping the movement of large volumes of cash and also rendering the people who have amassed large numbers of cash for ulterior motives powerless

Present at the ceremony were the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Mr. Boss Mustapha; Chief of Staff to the President, Professor Ibrahim Gambari; and the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Dr. Folashade Yemi-Esan.

Others were Ministers and the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr. Godwin Emefiele.

The Central Bank of Nigeria(CBN) Governor Godwin Emefiele said the introduction of new notes was a deliberate step by the government to check corruption and counterfeiting of the notes.

However, the naira notes currently in use will remain as legal tenders till 31st January 2023.