PASTOR Enoch Adeboye, the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), has raised a concern over the free fall of the naira following the currency redesign announcement by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
The governor of the CBN, Godwin Emefiele, had on October 26 announced the plan to redesign the naira notes to control money supply and aid security agencies in tackling illicit financial flow.
The decision of the CBN has elicited reactions as many Nigerians, including Godwin Obaseki, governor of Edo State, kicked against it.
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The cleric spoke on Friday during RCCG’s November holy ghost service at the church headquarters along the Lagos-Ibadan expressway.
He stressed that the policy “does not make sense” amid the free fall of the naira against foreign currencies.
Adeboye said the decision-makers initiated the policy without considering the current value of the naira and the prices of basic items in the country.
He said, “You know what is going on in our country. It doesn’t even make sense anymore. Our naira now is not even worth the paper it is printed on.
“While people are hungry, trying to find enough money to buy bread to eat, our bosses are thinking of making the naira more beautiful, even if it can’t buy bread, at least, it will look beautiful.
“We have problems in the land now. Things seem to be getting funnier and funnier. If you don’t learn to laugh in Nigeria now, you will develop hypertension.”
Just as Adeboye observed, The ICIR findings showed that most Nigerians are looking to hedge their currency in foreign denominated currency following the downward trend of the naira.
This development has also led to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) keeping closer tabs on bureau de change operators and tracking possible money launderers.
The CBN cited high circulation volume of the naira outside bank vaults, counterfeiting of the currency, short supply of clean notes, and prevalence of currency mutilation as some of the reasons it is redesigning the naira.
Harrison Edeh is a journalist with the International Centre for Investigative Reporting, always determined to drive advocacy for good governance through holding public officials and businesses accountable.