Nathaniel Zaccheaus, Abuja
The Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Hajia Zainab Ahmad, said on Friday that the Central Bank of Nigeria did not carry her Ministry along in its policy to redesign the naira notes.
The redesigned notes would become operational from December 15, 2022.
The Minister stated this while responding to a question raised by Senator Opeyemi Bamidele ( APC Ekiti Central) during the 2023 budget defence session she had with the Senate Committee on Finance.
She warned that the policy could have consequences.
Bamidele had explained to the Finance Minister that barely two days after the announcement of the policy by the CBN, it had started having repercussions on the value of the naira when compared to the US Dollar.
He said, “Just two days after the announcement of the policy, the value of the naira to a US dollar has risen from N740 to N788 to a US dollar due to massive rush to exchange naira for Dollars.
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” To me , the policy may be a well conceived one , but the timing going by realities on ground , is very wrong as the naira may fall to as low as N1,000 to a US dollar before January 31, 2023 fixed for full implementation of the policy.”
In her response, the Minister said she and her Ministry , were re not aware of the policy but only heard of it from the media .
She said, “Distinguished Senators , we were not consulted at the Ministry of Finance by CBN on the planned Naira redesigning and cannot comment on it as regards merits or otherwise .
” However as a Nigerian privileged to be at the top of Nigeria’s fiscal management , the policy as rolled out at this time , portends serious consequences on the value of Naira to other foreign currencies.
“I will however appeal to this committee to invite the CBN governor for required explanations as regards merits of the planned policy and rightness or otherwise of its implementation now “, she said .
The CBN Governor, Dr. Godwin Emefiele had on Wednesday said that the apex bank would redesign the country’s currency from 200 Naira denomination to N1,000 notes
He said that the action was taken in order to take control of the currency in circulation just as he posited that the bulk of the nation’s currency notes were outside bank vaults and that the CBN would not allow the situation to continue.
The planned policy he added , was in line with Sections 19, Subsections a and b of the CBN Act 2007, upon which the Management of the CBN sought and obtained the approval of President Muhammadu Buhari to redesign, produce, and circulate new series of banknotes at N200, N500, and N1,000 levels.
