Economy
CBN Injects Fresh Smaller Naira Notes into Circulation
By Dipo Olowookere
In order to improve circulation of N5, N10, N20, and N50, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has commenced the disbursement of the smaller Naira notes into the market.
The injection kicked off on Tuesday at the Wuse Market in Abuja and the apex bank explained that the move was to improve the ease of doing business in the country and also to make the Naira notes readily available to citizens.
Recently, there has been shortage of the smaller notes at the market. Also, Nigerians have had to deal with mutilated N100 notes, which the central bank blamed on commercial banks operating in the country.
Speaking on Tuesday at the Wuse Market in Abuja, the Acting Director, Currency Operations Department at the CBN, Mrs Priscilia Eleje, said the new Naira notes would be distributed to traders within Wuse and Garki Markets and others through their associations.
She explained that the publicity campaign tagged ‘Disbursement of Lower Denominations of the Naira’ was targeted at the informal sector, especially traders in markets.
Mrs Eleje disclosed that Abuja would be used as the pilot stage of the new campaign and if successful, would be replicated nationwide.
According to her, the money is not free, but exchanged through the various associations in the market for larger denominations.
She further explained that the new strategy would ensure that traders desist from hiking prices of goods simply to avoid looking for “change.”
“The notes we will be disbursing are mints. This money is not meant for you to keep in your house or to go and spray at weddings or sell.
“We have our operatives everywhere and whoever is caught selling these notes would be prosecuted.
“These notes are meant to be used for daily transactions so that when a customer comes to the market, you won’t tell him or her that you don’t have change,” the CBN director said.
Speaking also at the campaign, Deputy Director of Currency Operations Department at the CBN, Mr Vincent Wuranti, urged all users to desist from squeezing the notes, writing on them or using dirty hands to handle them.
He appealed to Nigerians to inculcate the habit of using wallets in order to safeguard the Naira and allow it to have a longer life span.
On his part, Chairman of Wuse Market Association, Mr Rapheal Okoro, thanked the apex bank for the campaign.
He further lamented that insufficient lower denominations of the Naira was one of the greatest problems being faced by his members.
However, he promised to support the central bank achieve its aims and objectives of the new campaign. He appealed to traders to desist from handling the Naira roughly, describing the legal tender as the nation’s symbol of identity that must be treated with respect.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) is seeking a reduction in import duty exemptions, which rose to N34 trillion, limiting its ability to increase its revenue generation threshold.
The Comptroller-General of the Customs Service, Mr Adewale Adeniyi, disclosed that the value of import duty exemption certificate approvals increased to that level in 2025, describing the policy as one of the major factors restricting its revenue generation.
At an investigative session of the Senate Committee on Finance with revenue-generating agencies in Abuja on Monday, Mr Adeniyi explained that government fiscal policies have continued to impact the revenue-generating capacity of the Customs Service, both positively and negatively.
“The NCS would have generated significantly higher revenue over the years if not for government-approved import duty waivers and other external factors affecting collections,” he said.
He added that the Import Duty Exemption Certificate scheme, introduced in March 2020, accounted for about N34 trillion in approvals in 2025, with nearly 60 per cent covering duty-free importation of military hardware due to Nigeria’s prevailing security challenges.
Other government-backed duty waivers, he noted, covered the importation of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG), electric and hybrid vehicles, healthcare equipment and medical supplies, industrial machinery and manufacturing inputs, as well as food import intervention programmes.
While acknowledging the impact of the waivers on Customs revenue, Mr Adeniyi argued that fiscal policy should not be assessed solely on the basis of revenue generation but also on its broader economic and social objectives.
He, however, urged the federal government to establish stronger monitoring mechanisms to ensure beneficiaries of duty waivers deliver the intended economic outcomes, including lower consumer prices, increased local production and improved healthcare access.
The committee also expressed displeasure over the absence of several heads of government agencies invited to the hearing, including the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN), Industrial Training Fund (ITF), and the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Jabi.
The Chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance, Mr Sani Musa, warned that the affected chief executives must appear at the committee’s next sitting or face severe sanctions under the Senate’s rules.
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By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange rose by 0.40 per cent on Monday, July 13, buoyed by buying interest in 11 Plc, Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc and UBN Property Plc, which offset the profit-taking in Food Concepts Plc, the parent company of Chicken Republic.
11 Plc gained N20.69 to end at N227.64 per share compared with last Friday’s price of N206.95 per share, CSCS Plc grew by N1.83 to N91.48 per unit from N89.65 per unit, and UBN Property Plc added 1 Kobo to sell at N1.81 per share versus N1.80 per share.
On the flip side, Food Concepts Plc depreciated by 24 Kobo to close at N2.45 per unit, in contrast to the preceding session’s N2.69 per unit.
As a result, the market capitalisation increased by N9.2 billion to N2.587 trillion from N2.578 trillion, and the NASD Security Index (NSI) improved by 15.33 points to 4,311.67 points from 4,296.34 points.
Yesterday, the volume of securities traded by investors surged by 615.9 per cent to 9.1 million units from the previous 1.3 million units, and the value of securities rose by 997.1 per cent to N320.4 million from the preceding session’s N29.2 million, while the number of deals decreased by 12.5 per cent to 28 deals from last Friday’s 32 deals.
At the close of trades, Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc remained the most active stock by value on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units valued at N8.4 billion, followed by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc with 2.3 billion units worth N6.5 billion, and CSCS Plc with 73.9 million units exchanged for N5.2 billion.
GNI Plc also closed the session as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units sold for N8.4 billion, followed by Infracredit Plc with 2.3 billion units traded for N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units transacted for N415.7 million.
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