The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has informed Nigerians that the eNaira, the country’s digital currency, poses no threat to financial stability. Dr Isa AbdulMumin, Director of the CBN’s Corporate Communications Department, stated this on Monday in Marrakech.
AbdulMumin was responding to a recent media story that expressed worries about Nigeria’s Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC), the eNaira, signaling potential financial stability problems.
According to the media report, which included excerpts from a book recently issued by the CBN, the eNaira was a possible danger to financial stability notwithstanding its achievement in closing the country’s financial inclusion gap. It stated that since its commencement, bank deposit conversion to eNaira has grown at an average monthly rate of 78.3 percent, totaling over N1.66 billion.
According to AbdulMumin, a review of the report indicates a lack of understanding of some portions of some articles in a book recently released by the CBN titled, “Economics of Digital Currencies’’.
“A recurring theme in the book is the interest of regulators such as CBN in the role of cryptocurrencies as speculative investments and the potential threat they harbour for financial stability.
“The articles in the book provide an in-depth understanding of CBDCs generally and the workings of the Naira,’’ he said. The director assured that as the eNaira structure continued to evolve, it was undergoing modifications targeted at improving the user experience “across all interfaces’’.
“We encourage Nigerians to embrace the technology for among other things, greater financial inclusion,’’ AbdulMumin said.
eNaira was initiated by the former CBN governor, Godwin Emefiele and inaugurated in October 2021 by former President Muhammadu Buhari. Nigeria is the first African country to adopt the CBDC
