President Muhammadu Buhari on Sunday said that the decision of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to launch new naira note designs and replace high-value Naira notes had his support and is convinced that the nation will gain a lot by doing so.
The president was reported to have said this, in a statement released on Sunday 30th October 2022, by the spokesperson to the President on Media & Publicity, Mr Garba Shehu.
Mr Garba Shehu in his statement on Sunday, stated that speaking in a Hausa radio interview with the famous journalist Halilu Ahmed Getso, and Kamaluddeen Sani Shawai to be aired Wednesday Morning on Tambari TV on Nilesat, President Buhari said reasons given to him by the CBN, convinced him that the economy stood to benefit from the reduction in inflation, currency counterfeiting and the excess cash in circulation.
He said he did not consider the period of three months for the change to the new naira as being short. ”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 interview, the President also addressed issues of food security and national security, among others.
What CBN Said About The New Naira Notes:
Following the criticisms that followed its announcement on redesigning the N200, N500 and N1000 notes, the CBN in a released statement on Saturday, had insisted that it followed the law, and due process for the new Naira redesign, saying the exercise is 12 years overdue.
“The CBN urges Nigerians to support the currency redesign project which is in the overall interest of every citizen of the country. The hoarding of significant sums of banknotes outside the vaults of commercial banks should be discouraged by anyone who means well for the country.
CBN had tarried for too long considering that it had to wait 20 years to carry out a redesign, whereas the standard practice globally was for central banks to redesign, produce and circulate new local legal tender every five to eight years,” the statement said.