President Muhammadu Buhari has finally unveiled the new naira notes, announced last month by Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele.
The unveiling took the entire country by surprise as the apex bank had while announcing the currency redesign policy in October, said the new notes would be introduced into the system by December 15, 2022, while the old notes would cease to be legal tender from January 31, 2023.
The CBN boss, was a witness at the Executive Chambers of the State House, Abuja, where the new currencies were unveiled to the members of the Federal Executive Council (FEC), during their weekly meeting.
The CBN Governor, Mr Godwin Emefiele had on Tuesday announced that the president will unveil the newly designed N1,000, N500 and N200 notes, a development that would be taking place again, 19 years after the last exercise.
Emefiele, who said the apex bank would intensify monitoring activities and interrogate the process of withdrawals, had told reporters before the event that the move was not meant to undermine some Nigerians, urging the people to desist from making such speculation.
Maintaining that the CBN would work with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to restrict the volume of cash that people could withdraw over the counter, as a way of monitoring the purpose of any heavy transactions, he also assured that the new currencies could never be counterfeited, adding that to forestall such occurrence, the CBN will redesign the notes after every five to eight years.
Following the unveiling of the new notes which begins circulation today, the CBN governor announced that the apex bank is now more determined to make Nigeria a cashless economy, as in other climes.
Buhari, while underscoring the importance of re-designing the new naira notes, explained that it would aide the country address the issue of Illicit financial flows, corruption, improve the nation’s economy, as well as ensure and advancement in the value of the naira.
Besides, the move would also boost the CBN’s Monetary policy initiative, he said, adding that the first set of currency which was printed locally by the Nigeria Printing and Minting Company, would fundamentally prevent counterfeiting, while appealing to Nigerians to embrace the new policy.
