Nigeria’s central bank was forced to defend its controversial currency redesign plan on October 29, just days after it was publicly questioned by Nigerian Finance Minister Zainab Ahmad. Nigeria’s central bank was forced to defend its controversial currency redesign plan just days after being publicly questioned by Nigerian Finance Minister Zainab Ahmad on October 29. The central bank argued that the move was long overdue and urged Nigerians to “support the currency redesign project that will be in the overall interest of all citizens of the country.”
President Muhammadu Buhari’s written approval
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) insists that its recently announced plan to issue a newly designed naira bill is legitimate and “over 12 years overdue.” In an apparent rebuke of Nigerian Finance Minister Zainab Ahmad, who publicly questioned the plan, the central bank said it “has received written approval from President Muhammadu Buhari for the design change.”
Speaking to lawmakers a day after the CBN’s surprise announcement, Ahmadreportedly said he had not been consulted and therefore could not comment “on the merits or otherwise”. As Bitcoin.com News recently reported, the CBN’s plan to introduce a new naira bill design is believed to have sparked a sharp drop in the local currency’s parallel market exchange rate, which hit a record low of $781 to the dollar.
Opponents of the CBN’s controversial plan argue that if the move goes ahead, the naira-to-dollar exchange rate will fall to 1,000 naira per dollar by the end of January 31, 2023. However, in a defiant statement issued on October 29, 2022, the CBN urged Nigerians to support the currency redesign policy.
“The CBN urges Nigerians to support a currency redesign project that will benefit the entire nation. The central bank said that “hoarding large amounts of banknotes outside commercial bank vaults is a good thing to do for the good of the country and should be discouraged.”
Currency redesign will become a global standard
The CBN further stated that “given that we had to wait 20 years for the redesign, we waited too long.” The statement also reiterates the bank’s earlier assertion that the redesigned naira distribution is a global standard practice that must be implemented every five to eight years.
The circulation of the new 100, 200, 500 and 1,000 naira bills is scheduled to begin on December 15. Nigerians are expected to return the old bills by the end of January 2023. Critics of the currency redesign plan have called on the CBN to either extend the deadline or cancel the plan altogether, but the latest local reports indicate that President Buhari has expressed support for the move.
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