Aduragbemi Omiyale
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
President Muhammadu Buhari has thrown his full weight behind the decision of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to redesign the higher Naira notes.
Last Wednesday, the Governor of the central bank, Mr Godwin Emefiele, announced plans to change the look of the N200, N500, and N1000 banknotes from December 15, 2022.
While addressing reporters at a special press briefing in Abuja, he disclosed that the old notes would seize to become legal tender in Nigeria from January 31, 2023, urging those with the Naira notes to approach their banks to exchange them for the new ones at no cost.
Two days after this announcement, the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs Zainab Ahmed, while speaking with the Senate Committee on Finance in Abuja, opposed the Naira redesigning, saying she was not consulted about the issue, noting that she also heard it from the media like every other person, despite being a top member of the fiscal policy team of this government.
On Sunday, in an interview to be aired on Wednesday on Tambari TV on Nilesat, Mr Buhari said he authorised the apex bank to redesign the banknotes because he was convinced that the nation would gain a lot by doing so.
In a statement issued yesterday by Mr Garba Shehu, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr Buhari said the economy stands to benefit from a reduction in inflation, currency counterfeiting and the excess cash in circulation just because of the action, which has generated controversies since its announcement.
According to the statement, the President did not consider three months for the change to the new notes as being short, saying, “People with illicit money buried under the soil will have a challenge with this but workers, businesses with legitimate incomes will face no difficulties at all.”
In the Hausa radio interview with the famous journalist Halilu Ahmed Getso and Kamaluddeen Sani Shawai, President Buhari also addressed food security and national security, among others.
