Finance Minister washes hands off CBN plan to redesign Naira

The Minister of Finance, Zainab Ahmed, on Friday said the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) did not consult her ministry on the apex bank’s decision to redesign the Naira.

CBN Governor Godwin Emefiele had taken the nation by surprise when he announced on Monday that the bank will be introducing new notes for certain denominations of the country’s currency. The denominations affected are the N100, N200, N500 and N1000 notes.

Ahmed demurred on the CBN’s plan when she appeared during the budget defence of the Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning before the Senate Committee on Finance, in Abuja.

The Minister said even though one of the reasons for the decision is to manage inflation, consequences are sure to follow.

“We were not consulted,” she said. “It was an announcement that we heard. Part of the reasons that was advocated is that it is one of the ways to mop up the liquidity to manage inflation.

READ: BREAKING: CBN to redesign Naira

“But there are also consequences – we are looking at what the consequences will be. There will be some benefits but there will be some challenges.

“And I don’t know whether the monetary authorities have actually looked very closely at what the consequences and how they will mitigate it.”

Senator Michael Opeyemi Bamidele (APC, Ekiti), had said that barely two days after the announcement of the policy by CBN, its effects on the value of Naira to US dollar was being felt.

He said: “Just two days after announcement of the policy, value of Naira to a US dollar has risen from N740 to N788 to a US dollar due to rush in exchange of starched naira notes for foreign currencies, particularly US dollar.

“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.”