THE Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has said the scarcity of naira notes is not due to a shortage of printing materials.
The apex bank, in a statement issued on Friday by its spokesperson Osita Nwasinobi, debunked reports that the Nigerian Security Printing and Minting PLC (NSPMC) is incapable of printing new naira notes.
CBN lists money bouquet as naira abuse
Court stops CBN, Buhari from suspending cash limit policy
Naira Scarcity: Bear with CBN, Peter Obi urges
CBN described the reports quoting Godwin Emefiele, the CBN governor, as saying cash shortage is due to insufficient capacity to print notes that can satisfy demand as misleading.
It noted that the governor informed the Council of State that the NSPMC is working on printing all naira denominations to accommodate Nigerians’ transaction needs.
CBN also debunked reports that it plans to shut down some banks in some parts of the country.
“While the CBN appreciates the concerns of all stakeholders about the distribution of the Naira, we are alarmed at the extent to which vested interests are attempting to manipulate facts and pitch the public against the Bank.
“For the avoidance of doubt, the CBN remains committed to performing its monetary policy functions, as stipulated in the CBN Act, 2007, as amended. We also wish to restate that the NSPMC has the capacity and enough materials to produce the required indent of the Naira.
“The Bank, therefore, wishes to appeal to the public to disregard the said report and exercise more restraint, even as we work assiduously to increase the circulation of the new notes in the country.
“Similarly, there is a misleading voice note trending in social media alleging that the CBN planned to shut down some banks, particularly in a particular geopolitical region of the country,” the CBN said.
“We wish to state unequivocally that there is no such plan and that the claims are illogical and do not comply with the workings of the Nigerian banking system.”
Beloved John is an investigative reporter with International Centre for Investigative Reporting.
You can reach her via: [email protected]