Economy
Group Advises CBN to Insert Expiry Dates in New Naira Notes
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has been advised to insert expiry dates in each batch of the redesigned Naira notes to discourage the stockpiling of the banknotes by corrupt politicians and persons with questionable sources of income.
Almost a month ago, the CBN Governor, Mr Godwin Emefiele, announced that the current N200, N500, and N1,000 notes would be phased off by January 31, 2023, with the new series of the denominations introduced into the financial system by December 15, 2022.
The reason for this policy, according to the apex bank chief, was because it was discovered that some persons had kept over 80 per cent of the currencies printed by the lender outside the vaults.
It was stated that kidnappers, politicians, and others had hoarded the notes and to take control of cash in circulation and also curb inflation, it was necessary to abandon the old notes and ensure that its cashless policy was effective.
This action of the central bank has not gone down well with some people, who want the bank to extend the deadline for mopping up the old notes by three months.
Also, President Muhammadu Buhari has been asked to remove Mr Emefiele as the CBN chief over this policy.
But an amalgamation of patriots in Northern Nigeria under the aegis of Coalition of Northern Patriots for National Reorientation objects to the sacking of Mr Emefiele, urging the President to ignore those calling for the banker’s head, including the Concerned Northern Forum (CNF), which gave Mr Buhari seven days to carry out this action, threatening to stage “massive protests across the Northern region and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
In a statement issued in Abuja by the spokesman of the coalition, Mr Ali Abacha, the patriots said only groups sponsored by corrupt politicians could kick against the Naira redesign.
It said Nigeria is at a crossroads, both politically and economically. The coalition insisted that it then calls for “drastic steps and a lot of sacrifices to return the country to the path of prosperity for all as against the current regime where the interests of a few individuals are protected.”
The patriots noted that the Naira redesign was long overdue, urging “the CBN to consider inserting expiry date on every batch of the naira notes to ensure that no individual stocks large sums of money in his bed chamber or underground.”
The statement added, “Today, many highly placed individuals, who cannot explain the source of their income, stockpile Naira notes in various denominations in their houses for fear of the anti-graft agencies.
“Some others who are engaged in illicit drug trafficking and kidnapping for ransom have stockpiles of notes in their houses while the economy is starved of urgently needed funds that should be in circulation to help the economy grow.
“For us, any individual or group working to stop the scheduled redesign of banknotes in the country is either ignorant or may be working for corrupt politicians and persons whose sources of income are questionable.
“We, therefore, call on President Muhammadu Buhari to ignore calls for the sack of the CBN Governor and his management team and treat individuals and groups agitating for the stoppage of Naira redesign as enemies of democracy and the prosperity of the country.
“We call on all security agencies to carry out a thorough investigation of persons and groups plotting to truncate the Naira redesign process as the investigation may lead to uncovering criminal syndicates and political thieves behind them.
“We hereby emphasize that northern Nigeria is not in any way against the CBN policy to redesign the N200, N500 and N1,000 banknotes as already approved by President Muhammadu Buhari.
“Nigeria needs to end vote buying, and 2023 is the best time to start the process as tackling vote buying could be one of the many unintended but immeasurable benefits of the Naira redesign besides the long-term economic gains across the country.”
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange achieved a milestone on Friday, April 24, 2026, after five securities on the platform helped with a 1.85 per cent growth.
Data showed that the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) again crossed the 4,000-point benchmark yesterday.
The index chalked up 73.64 points during the trading day to close at 4,052.59 points compared with the preceding session’s 3,978.95 points, while the market capitalisation added N5.38 billion to finish at N2.424 trillion versus Thursday’s closing value of N2.380 trillion.
The price gainers were led by Okitipupa Plc, which grew by N25.00 to sell at N305.00 per share compared with the previous price of N280.00 per share. Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc gained N6.92 to close at N76.26 per unit versus N69.34 per unit, Afriland Properties Plc appreciated by N1.00 to N17.00 per share from N18.00 per share, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc improved by 55 Kobo to N99.55 per unit from N99.00 per unit, and Food Concepts Plc increased by 5 Kobo to N2.70 per share from N2.65 per share.
However, there was a price loser, MRS Oil, which dipped by N21.75 to N195.75 per unit from N217.50 per unit.
During the final session of the week, the value of securities jumped 75.2 per cent to N41.3 million from N23.6 million units, and the number of deals expanded by 62.9 per cent to 44 deals from 27 deals, while the volume of securities declined marginally by 0.9 per cent to 447,403 units from 451,522 units.
At the close of trades, Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc was the most traded stock by volume (year-to-date) with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, trailed by Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units valued at N415.7 million, and Infrastructure Guarantee Credit Plc with 400 million units traded for N1.2 billion.
GNI was also the most active stock by value (year-to-date) with 3.4 billion units sold for N8.4 billion, followed by CSCS Plc with 59.6 million units transacted for N4.0 billion, and Okitipupa Plc with 27.8 million units exchanged for N1.9 billion.
By Adedapo Adesanya
It was not a good day for the Nigerian Naira in the currency market on Friday, April 24, as its value depreciated against the major foreign currencies at the close of transactions.
In the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX), it lost N4.53 or 0.33 per cent against the United States Dollar yesterday to trade at N1,358.44/$1, in contrast to the N1,353.91/$1 it was exchanged on Thursday.
Equally, the domestic currency slipped against the Pound Sterling in the official market during the session by N8.14 to close at N1,834.02/£1, compared with the previous rate of N1,825.88/£1 and dropped N8.01 against the Euro to sell at N1,590.73/€1 versus N1,582.72/€1.
Also, the Naira depreciated against the US Dollar at the GTBank FX desk on Friday by N4 to quote at N1,370/$1 compared with the previous session’s N1,366/$1, and at the parallel market, it depleted by N5 to settle at N1,380/$1 versus the preceding day’s N1,375/$1.
Data published by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) indicated that NFEM interbank turnover surged to N43.562 million across 68 deals, up from N28.117 million the previous day.
Despite the CBN’s reassurance that the recent drop in external reserves is not worrisome, the market remains unsettled by persistent concerns over liquidity constraints, policy transparency, and weakening confidence in Nigeria’s FX market as gross reserves continue to decline to $48.4 billion.
The outlook for the Dollar appears supported by broader macro risks, including elevated oil prices tied to the tanker traffic disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz and a continued US-Iran standoff over ceasefire negotiations.
A look at the digital currency market showed that investors are sitting on the edge as the US Dollar rebounded amid geopolitical and inflation risks despite continued inflows into US spot bitcoin Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs).
Solana (SOL) rose by 1.2 per cent to sell $86.45, Cardano (ADA) appreciated by 1.1 per cent to $0.2517, Dogecoin (DOGE) grew by 0.9 per cent to $0.0989, Ripple (XRP) improved by 0.3 per cent to $1.43, Ethereum (ETH) soared by 0.2 per cent to $2,316.83, and Binance Coin (BNB) chalked up 0.1 per cent to sell for $637.44.
However, TRON (TRX) depreciated by 1.3 per cent to $0.3235, and Bitcoin (BTC) lost 0.2 per cent to close at $77,562.27, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) closed flat at $1.00 each.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The oil market was mixed on Friday as traders weighed supply disruptions against the potential restart of peace talks between the US and Iran that could help limit those shortfalls.
Brent crude futures settled at $105.33 a barrel after rising by 26 cents or 0.3 per cent, while the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures traded at $94.40 a barrel after falling by $1.45 or 1.5 per cent. For the week, Brent gained about 16 per cent and WTI rose nearly 13 per cent.
Reuters reported that Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi was expected to arrive in Islamabad late on Friday to discuss proposals for resuming peace talks with the U.S. after talks collapsed earlier this week.
Also, CNN reported that US President Donald Trump was sending special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner to Pakistan for talks with Iran’s foreign minister.
The American President also told Reuters on Friday that Iran plans to make an offer aimed at satisfying US demands. On Thursday, he said Iran may have loaded up its weaponry “a little bit” during a two-week ceasefire, but added that the US military could eliminate it in a single day. On Wednesday, he said he would indefinitely extend the ceasefire to allow for further peace talks.
Meanwhile, navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, which before the war carried about a fifth of global oil output, remains effectively blocked.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps seized two container ships – MSC Francesca and Epaminondas – following the US’ seizure of the Iranian cargo ship Touska, putting a drastic halt to attempts to pass through the Strait of Hormuz by non-oil tankers.
The head of the International Energy Agency (IEA), Mr Fatih Birol, said that the Iran war has permanently changed the fossil fuel industry, adding that the damage to confidence in fossil fuel security is permanent, and that countries exposed to the Strait of Hormuz disruption will rethink how much geopolitical risk they are willing to embed in their energy systems.
Analysts from JPMorgan argued that prices may need to rise further to force additional demand destruction. Goldman Sachs estimates Gulf oil production is down 57 per cent from pre-war levels, which are shortage signals, not evidence of a fossil fuel system in retreat.
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