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Sulaimon Olanrewaju
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has said that the Nigerian Security Printing and Minting Company Plc (NSPMC) has enough capacity and materials to produce the required quantity of the new Naira notes, adding that at no time did its governor, Godwin Emefiele, say anything to the contrary during his presentation to the National Council of State.
The apex bank, while assuring Nigerians that it would increase circulation of the new notes to all parts of the country, debunked the rumour that it planned to close down some money deposit banks in some regions of the country.
The CBN, in a statement signed by its Corporate Communications Director, Osita Nwanisobi, at the weekend, said its attention had been drawn to a report misquoting its governor as attributing the current challenge in the distribution of the newly redesigned naira banknotes to a shortage of printing materials at the Nigerian Security Printing and Minting Company Plc.
The bank said in the press statement, “At no time did the CBN Governor disclose this during his presentation to the National Council of State at its meeting on Friday, February 10, 2023.
“For the records, what Mr. Emefiele told the meeting was that the NSPMC was working on printing all denominations of the Naira to meet the transaction needs of Nigerians.”
The apex bank, while expressing its appreciation to all stakeholders for the concern shown about the distribution of the new notes, said it was alarmed “at the extent to which vested interests are attempting to manipulate facts and pitch the public against the bank.”
The statement continued, “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.”
On the alleged plan to shut down some banks, 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.
“The public is therefore advised to ignore such recordings as they do not represent the policy thrust of the CBN and are only the desperate attempts of persons bent on inciting the public against the bank.”
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