With rising concerns around the seeming disappearance of newly redesigned notes, the Central Bank of Nigeria has said it is supplying more quantities of the new notes to banks.
This was according to a statement by the CBN’s Acting
Director, Corporate Communications, Dr Isa AbdulMumim, which was sent to our
correspondent on Sunday.
Banks are expected to disburse the new currencies to their
customers via over-the-counter payments and Automated Teller Machines.
The statement by the CBN read, “We wish to reiterate that
the new and old currency notes have been circulating side by side just as the
bank has been taking delivery of a good quantity of the redesigned bank notes
from the Nigerian Security Printing and Minting Company Limited.
“Furthermore, we are committed to supplying the approved
indent for the smooth running of the economy. We, therefore, urge members of
the public to disregard any report suggesting a phase-out of the redesigned
currency.”
The CBN re-stated that the redesigned and old notes would
continue to be accepted as legal tender and circulate side-by-side for
transactions ahead of the December 31, 2023 deadline, when the old N1000, N500
and N200 banknotes will eventually be phased out.
The PUNCH recently reported that the currency in circulation
in the country jumped by N701.4tn in one month to hit N1.6tn in March 2023
after the CBN reversed its policy on the naira redesign.
According to the CBN, currency-in-circulation is defined as
currency outside the vaults of the central bank; that is, all legal tender
currencies in the hands of the public and in the vaults of the Deposit Money
Banks.
The currency in circulation in the country had dipped by
235.03 per cent to N982.09bn as of the end of February from N3.29tn as of the
end of October 2022, on the back of the naira redesign policy of the CBN.
Figures obtained from the CBN revealed that N2.3tn was
mopped up from circulation during the period under review.
The hardest hit by the policy had been the most vulnerable
members of the population (the poor, the unbanked and the rural dwellers), the
report added.
The Governor of the CBN, Godwin Emefiele, had in October
2022, announced plans to redesign the old N200, N500 and N1,000 notes.
The governor decried the challenges associated with currency
management, including the hoarding of banknotes by members of the public, with
statistics showing that over 80 per cent of currency-in-circulation was outside
the vaults of commercial banks.