With the dust yet to settle over the new naira redesign, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has justified the rationale for embarking on the initiative.
Giving an explanation for the simplicity of the naira redesign, the director of currency operations at the apex bank, Ahmed Umar, while speaking at the 2022 workshop for business editors and members of the Finance Correspondents Association of Nigeria (FICAN) in Port Harcourt, the Rivers state capital, said the redesign of the notes was long overdue, pointing out that the N1000 notes had been in existence for 17 years, N500 for 21 years and N200 for 22 years.
Represented by the head, policy development division, Amina Halidu-Giwa, Umar said CBN had limited time to combat the problem of counterfeiting currency hoarding, among others.
“We want to solve a problem and we have limited time to do that”, Umar said while fielding questions from reporters.
Continuing, he said, “Redesigning is about change of colour or size. The ink itself is a security feature.”
He said the naira redesign would encourage many Nigerians, with bank accounts to be included in the financial system.
“Naira redesign will also help in reducing cash management expenditures, give visibility and control and would help the bank to know the volume of money in circulation,” Umar said.
”It will also help in fighting counterfeiting and money laundering.”
TMYNewspapers.com reports that President Muhammadu Buhari had last week unveiled the redesigned naira notes, but Nigerians have expressed displeasure at the move, saying it is waste of scarce public funds and further put pressure on the local currency at the foreign exchange market
