CBN’s Plan To Redesign Naira Is Purely Political, Lacks Basis In Economics – Obaseki

Edo State Governor, Godwin Obaseki has condemned the proposed plan by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to redesign some Naira notes denominations.

Obaseki Faults Naira Redesign

On October 26, the CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele said that the apex bank would redesign Nigeria’s currency from N200 naira denomination to 1,000 naira notes from December 15.

Emefiele 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.

He said the planned policy was in line with Sections 19, Subsections a and b of the CBN Act 2007, upon which the apex bank 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.

Reacting to the development, Obaseki said that the CBN’s plan to redesign naira notes is political and a ploy by the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) to sway voters ahead of the 2023 general elections.

The governor spoke while inaugurating the Edo State Peoples Democratic Party Women Campaign Council at the Presidential Campaign Secretariat in Benin City, the Edo State capital on Wednesday.

He lambasted the Federal Government for the move, stressing that the redesign of the nation’s currency shouldn’t be a priority as the majority of citizens are suffering from hunger, poverty and economic hardship.

Obaseki said, “They say we should all bring our naira and give it to them because they want to change it for us. Is that our priority now? Does changing of currency reduce the price of food in the market? They say they want to change our currency and dollar is going higher every day. We can’t even see dollars again.

“I am an economist and I can tell you categorically that this policy by the CBN and Federal Government has no basis in Nigeria’s economy. There is no reason to do this. The move is purely political as there is no urgency in changing our currency.

“The urgency is on how to get food for our citizens to remove starvation and hunger from the land. The urgency is on how to maintain discipline in our monetary policy so that we can manage our foreign exchange rate because we are import dependent.

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“We can’t allow those managing our country (APC) to continue because if we allow the APC government to continue, the country will fail as the country is already failing. God sees how people are suffering in this country and will not allow them to manage Nigeria again.

“The 2023 general election is for the continuous existence of Nigeria. If the country must not fail, then we need to vote out APC as a party. Our party, the PDP is organic and our candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, is the best amongst all. The party has the structure to win the election next year.”

“APC has stolen our money and wants to use it to impose themselves on Nigerians come 2023 general elections. They have stocked up a lot and want to bring the money. Don’t be afraid, collect the money and vote them out like you did in Edo in the 2020 governorship election,” he charged.

The chairperson of the women campaign council, Mrs. Betsy Obaseki, said, “APC is still imposing more suffering on the people of the nation. The existence of the nation is threatened and Nigerians should not sit down and watch but come out en masse to vote out APC.”

KanyiDaily recalls that the Minister of Finance, Budget, and National Planning, Zainab Ahmad had distanced herself from CBN’s plan, warning that the new policy may have grave consequences on the value of Naira to other foreign currencies.