Governor Godwin Emefiele of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) disclosed the financial regulator’s decision to redesign some naira notes.
In a statement obtained by BizWatch Nigeria, the CBN chief identified the notes as -N200, N500, and N1,000, stating that they would all be launched on Thursday, December 15, 2022.
Why CBN is redesigning the naira notes
Noting that global best practise requires central banks to redesign their currencies every five to eight years, Emefiele said Nigeria is yet to change the look of the naira in the last 20 years.
Other reasons include;
- Scarcity of clean and fit banknotes.
- Hoarding of banknotes.
- The alarming rates of counterfeited banknotes.
Citing the aforementioned reasons, Emefiele explained that the decision to redesign the naira notes will trigger the enablement of people to put their money into the banking system.
According to him, bringing money outside the banking system into the banking system will leverage monetary policy to become more effective, such that inflation will be rightly combated.
What this means for Nigerians
- While members of the public have been encouraged to help in the mopping out of the existing N200, N500, and N1,000 notes before Tuesday, January 31, 2023, it is believed that vote-buying may be addressed, as politicians will be forced to deposit their money, or risk making it become an unacceptable legal tender.
- People who have stashed money in their homes will be forced to bring out the money, and face the law. Note that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) can be alerted on deposits exceeding N500,000.
- Money laundering will be turned to by corrupt people, as many of them will seek alternative means of having their stashed money deposited.
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