The Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines, and Agriculture (NACCIMA) believes the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) should have issued a ₦5,000 note instead of redesigning the currency.
Sola Obadimu, director-general of NACCIMA, stated on Monday that if the naira redesign policy had been implemented differently, Nigerians would have been under less pressure.
According to Obadimu, the creation of a new ₦5,000 note would have mopped up the money in circulation without causing any inconvenience.
He also claimed that the CBN would have spent less money on printing new notes.
“If I were the CBN governor, all I would have done was to have introduced a ₦5,000 note,” Obadimu said.
“That would have helped to mop up the money in circulation without the kickbacks we are getting.
“Because it is a higher denomination, fewer amounts of bills would have been printed.’’
The NACCIMA DG while talking about the CBN’s cashless policy said that it was a laudable initiative because “that is where the world is heading”.
He did, however, express concerns about the government’s readiness, particularly in terms of internet infrastructure.
“For instance, when a financial transaction declines, you get debited and the bank cannot refund you for up to three weeks even if the transaction is to the same bank,” Obadimu said.
“So, for the urban network to improve and for the rural areas to catch up, the government has to invest heavily in infrastructure so that every part of Nigeria will be digitised.”
