By John Ikani
The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele has announced that President Muhammadu Buhari will launch the new naira notes on the 23rd of November 2022.
Disclosing this at the apex bank’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting held on Tuesday in Abuja, Emefiele said the redesigned 200, 500 and 1000 naira notes will be unveiled by the President at the Federal Executive Council meeting.
The CBN governor also insisted that there is no going back on the January 31st data of ensuring all old currencies lose their legal tender status.
The central bank had earlier announced that it would redesign naira notes to have control of the amount of currency in circulation, and to enable it manage inflation and tackle counterfeiting.
The CBN governor, during the announcement, said the change was sequel to the president’s approval and that the new banknotes would commence on December 15, 2022.
“These challenges primarily include: Significant hoarding of banknotes by members of the public, with statistics showing that over 85 percent of currency in circulation are outside the vaults of commercial banks,” CBN governor Godwin Emefiele had said.
“To be more specific, as at the end of September 2022, available data at the CBN indicate that N2.73 Trillion out of the N3.23 trillion currency in circulation, was outside the vaults of Commercial Banks across the country; and supposedly held by the public.
“Evidently, currency in circulation has more than doubled since 2015; rising from N1.46 trillion in December 2015 to N3.23 trillion in September 2022. This is a worrisome trend that cannot be allowed to continue.”
Responding to concerns about Nigerians in the rural areas especially as the timeframe for submission of the old note is short, the bank said it has made provision for easy exchange.
The bank said it is working with relevant agencies in the financial system in its execution, particularly in ensuring that vulnerable citizens are not at disadvantage.
